LAN 200 - Sustainable Landscape Practices

Lab 1
Identifying Hazard Trees and Tree Defects

During this lab we will be touring the STCC campus and some surrounding neighborhoods looking at healthy and compromised trees.

At the end of this lab you should be able to recognize and identify the following:

• Defective trees and targets.  Are they a hazard?

• Excurrent and decurrent growth habits

• Co-dominant branches with included bark

• Decay evidence:  broken branches, fungal evidence, bleeding

• Stand recently altered

• Stump regeneration

• “V” crotch branch attachment; identify strong vs weak branch attachments

• Taper

• Stem cracks and deformities: frost cracks/sunscald

• Lean

• Grade changes/fill

• Soil compaction

• Girdling roots

• Leaf scorch

• Mechanical damage

• Planting depth/ mulching

• Lichens (what are they? Are they a problem?)

A helpful website to review images of tree defects and hazard trees www.na.fs.fed.us