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ProtectingExistingLandscapeTreesfromConstructionDamageDuetoGradeChanges|EarthKindLandscaping

ProtectingExistingLandscapeTreesfrom
ConstructionDamageDuetoGradeChanges
DouglasF.Welsh,ProfessorandExtensionHorticulturist
EverettE.Janne,ExtensionLandscapeHorticulturist(deceased)

Gradechangesarefrequentlynecessarywhilebuildingsitesarebeingpreparedfor
construction.Oftenthebuildingsitehasbeenchosenbecauseofthepresenceofmature
trees.However,anychangeingradearoundexistingtreescanhaveasignificantimpacton
theirsurvivalandfuturegrowth.Unlesscorrectivestepsaretakenimmediately,loweringthe
gradeexposestheexistingrootsystemtotheairandreducesthesupplyofnutrientsand
moistureavailabletotheroots.
Raisingthegradeorsoilleveloverexistingrootscanhaveanevengreatereffectonthe
futuregrowthandsurvivalofexistingtrees.Whensoiloranytypeoffillisplacedoverthe
existingrootsystem,itcausesareductionintheoxygensupplytothetreerootsandslows
downtherateofgasexchangebetweentherootsandtheairinthesoilporespace.
Bothoxygenandwaterareessentialtothegrowth,developmentandnutrientuptakebythe
roots.Manyofthesoilorganismsalsoutilizethewaterandoxygenintheirnormalgrowth
processes.Lackofoxygeninthesoilmayresultinaccumulationofnoxiousgasesand
chemicalsdetrimentaltogoodgrowth.Whenthisoccurs,thefeederrootsfailtodevelop,the
rootsystemandtheabovegroundportionofthetreebegintodecline.Manyfactors
(includingtreespecies,depthandtypeoffill,drainage,soilstructurebelowthefillandthe
generalvigoroftheexistingtree)haveadetermininginfluenceuponthetimeittakesforthe
abovegroundsymptomstoappear.Thus,itmighttakeanywherefromseveralmonthstoas
muchas3to5yearsbeforetreedeathwouldoccur.

DeterminingFeasibilityofPreventingInjury
Whenthegradearoundanestablishedtreeisbeingraised,carefulconsiderationshouldbe
giventomethodsofpreventinginjurytothetreebeforethefillismaderatherthanattempting
totakecorrectivemeasuresafterthedamagehasbeendone.Whiletheinitialcostmaybe
high,preventingdamageisalwayscheaperandmoreeffectivethanattemptingtocorrectthe
situationafterthedamagehasbeendone.
Severalimportantfactorsshouldbeconsideredinattemptingtodeterminewhetherthecost
ofsavingthetreeisworththeeffortandexpenseofmakingtheinstallationsnecessaryto
preventorreduceextentofinjury.
DensityofTreePopulation.Wheretreesarescarce,anyattempttosaveoneortwosound
treesisusuallyworthwhile.Iftherearenumeroustreesontheproperty,thepropertyowner
maynotfeelthatthecosttosaveoneortwointheimmediateconstructionsiteisjustified.
SpeciesandVariety.Someofthefastgrowing,shortlivedtreesmaynotbeworththecost
oftryingtosavethem.Butagoodhealthytreethatismatureoradaptedtothearea,witha
longlifeexpectancy,isdifficulttoreplace.Forsuchtrees,theexpenseofprovidingthe
necessaryprotectioncanfrequentlybejustified.
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AgeandVigorofExistingTrees.Theconditionofthetreeisanimportantfactorin
determiningitsworth.Ifithasalargecavity,hasbeenseverelydamagedbylightningor
storm,orhaslivedoutanormallifespan,itisdifficulttojustifytheexpenseandlabor
necessarytosavethetrees.Thisisespeciallytrueifthereisdangeroflosingittoother
causes.Butayoung,vigoroustree,ifattractiveandwellplaced,wouldbevaluableenough
tosave.

ProperInstallationofDeepFillAroundExisting
Trees.
Allvegetationshouldberemoved,includingsodandunderbrushbeneaththebranchspread
ofthetree.Organicmatter,asitdecomposesbeneathasoilfill,cancreatenoxiousgases
detrimentaltothetreeroots.
Thetop3to6inchesofthesoilsurfaceshouldbecultivatedorbrokenupcarefullysoasto
disturbtheleastpossibleamountofroots.Thistreatmentallowsbettercontactwiththefill
soilandpreventsasharplineofdemarcationbetweentheexistingsoilsurfaceandthefill.
Asaretaineraroundthetrunk,anopenjointwallofshell,rock,masonryorbrickinacircle
aroundthetreetrunkshouldbeconstructedwithatleast1to2feetbetweenthetrunkand
thewall.Thewallshouldbeashighasthetopofthenewgrade.Thecompletedopeningis
commonlyreferredtoasatreewell.
Anaerationsystemcanbeconstructedusing4inchperforatedplasticpipearrangedin5to
6horizontallinesradiatingfromthetreewelllikespokesinawheeltoapointbeyondthe
branchspread.Theradiallineshouldbeinstalledsotheyslopefromthetreetrunk,thus
allowingexcessmoisturetodrainaway.Theouterendsoftheradiatingsystemshouldbe
connectedwithacircleofperforatedplasticpipeasshowninFigure1.

Toprovidevents,4or6inchplasticpipeorbelltilecanbeplaceduprightoverthejunction
oftheradiallineswiththecircle.Theseuprighttilesshouldextendtothesurfaceofthe
plannedgradelevelandcanbeheldinplacewithcoarsegravelorstone.Thelowendofthe
aerationsystemshouldbeextendedtoacurb,stormdrainorsumptocarryoffexcess
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moisture.
Theexposedsoilandtheaerationsystemshouldbecoveredwithrockorcoarsegraveltoa
depthof6to18inches,dependingontheamountoffill,followedbyacoveringlayerof
gravel.Topreventsoilfromfilteringintothegravelandstone,athinlayerofstraw,woven
plasticorotherporousmaterialcanbeplacedoverthegravelandthenfilledinwithgoodtop
soiltothedesiredorfinishedgrade.
Placingsufficientcoarsegravelinthetreewelltocovertheendsofthelinesopeningintothe
wellwilldiscouragerodentsfromeatingthesystem.Coarsegravelcanalsobeplacedinthe
uprightbelltileorplasticpipeandcoveredwithascreenofgrilltopreventrodentsfrom
makingnestsinthetilesystem.AverticalsectionofthecompletedfillcanbeseeninFigure
2.

Atreewellcanbeleftopen.However,forsafetypurposes,itmaybecoveredwithawooden
deckorametalgrill.Thewellcanalsobefilledwithamixtureofcoarsesandandcharcoal
(50%each,byvolume)towithinseveralinchesofthetop.Thismixturecanbecoveredwith
peagravel,decorativebarkorotherattractivematerialtoallowgoodairmovementintothe
tilesystem.
Analternatemethodcanbeusedwherenotover24inchesoffillwillbeused,andwhere
internalsoildrainageisgood.Inthisapproach,noperforatedpipeisused,onlygravel.
Again,allsodandunderbrushmustberemoved,thesoilsurfacebrokenupabovetheroots,
andanyneededfertilizerapplied.Startingattheouterextremitiesofthebranches,apply
from3to6inchesofcoarsegravelorcrushedstone.Thedepthtowardsthetrunkofthetree
shouldbeincreasedgraduallyuntilitis8to12inchesordeeperwithin2feetofthetrunk.
Thegravelcanreachthesurfaceofthefillintheareaextending2feetaroundthetrunkof
thetree(seeFigure3).Thegravelcanbecoveredwithathinlayerofstraw,wovenplasticor
otherporousmaterialtokeepsoilfromfilteringintothecoarsegravelandsealingtheair
spaces.Somegoodtopsoilshouldbespreadovertheareatothedesireddepth(seeFigure
3).

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ToLowertheExistingGrade
Lessdamageislikelytooccurtoatreewhenthegradeisloweredinthevicinityoftheroot
zoneunlessgreatamountsofrootsareexposedorremoved.Theremovalof1to2inchesof
soilwillnotnormallyaffectthegrowthofthetree,especiallyifstepsaretakentoprevent
droughtdamageresultingfromlossofroots.Terracesorretainingwalls(seeFigure4)

canbeusedtoavoidexcessivesoil
lossintheareaofgreatestrootgrowth.Correctivepruningofthetoptocompensateforthe
lossofrootswillusuallybenecessary.Ratherthanbeingtopped,muchofthetopgrowth
shouldbethinnedoutbytrimmingoutthelateralgrowthandcuttingsomeofthemain
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branchesbacktogoodsidebranches(seeFigure5).Inthisway,thenormalshapeofthe
treeisretainedwhilethetopgrowthcanbereducedtoathirdoratleastahalfofitsoriginal
size.
Ifpossible,amulchofanytypeshouldbespreadovertheexposedareatohelpaidin
preventingsoilerosion,incuttingdownonmoistureloss,andinkeepingsoiltemperatures
moremoderate.Provisionsshouldalsobemadeforadequateirrigationintheeventofa
prolongeddrought.

CorrectiveStepstoTakeAfteraFillWasMade
Ifafillhasbeeninplacelongenoughforvisualsymptomsoftreedeteriorationtooccur,little
canbedonetosavethetree.Incaseswherethefillhasbeenmaderecentlyorwhereno
seriousdamagehasoccurred,somecorrectiveactioncanbetaken.
Iftheincreaseislessthan12inches,itispossibletoremovesoilaroundthetreetrunkdown
totheoriginalsoillevelforaradiusof2feetbeyondthetrunk.Adrywellshouldbeinstalled
aroundthetrunktoholdthefillsoilinplace.Startingabouttwofeetoutfromthedrywell,
holesshouldbedrilledordugevery2feetbeneaththebranchspread.A6inchplasticpipe
shouldbeinsertedandthenfilledwithcoarsegraveltoallowfreeairandgasexchangein
therootzone.Thiswillusuallysufficeforashallowfill.
Wheredeeperfillshavebeenmade,itwillbenecessarytoinstallapipeandgravelaeration
systemasdescribedpreviously.Thesoilaroundthetreetrunkshouldbeexcavatedtothe
originalgradewithradialtrenchesextendingtotheouterlimitsofthebranches.Awell
shouldbeconstructedaroundthetrunktokeepbackthesoil.Theradicaltrenchesshouldbe
joinedwithacirculartrenchlocatedatthediplineofthebranches.Thedepthofthetrenches
shouldbedugtotheoriginalgradelineandthesystemshouldslopesufficientlytoprovide
gooddrainageawayfromthetreetrunk.Inordertocarryoffsurplusmoisture,itmaybe
necessarytoextendtheradiallineonthedownhillsidetoanaturaldrainorintoasumpor
cistern.A4inchperforatedplasticpipeaerationsystemshouldbeinstalledandcoveredwith
gravelbeforereplacingthesoilbacktothenewgradeline.Theinstallationwillbeidenticalto
thatdescribedpreviously,excepttheinstallationwillhavebeenmadeafterthefillwas
installed.
Becausetherecanbenoassurancethatatreewillrecoverfromthedamagealreadydone,
carefulconsiderationmustbegiventothevalueofthetreeinthelandscapebefore
expensivecorrectivemeasuresareundertaken.Thetreewouldhavetobeextremely
attractive,valuableorhavesignificanthistoricalvaluetojustifytheexpenseofthese
correctivemeasuressincesuccessisnotassured.
Thepreventivemeasuresoutlinedinthispublicationwillinmostcasesinsurethecontinued
lifeandusefulnessofthetree(Figure6).Thedecisionthepropertyownermustmakeafter
evaluatingtheaestheticorlandscapevalueofthetreeandthecostofinstallationiswhether
thetreeisworththecostandeffortinvolved.

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Theinformationgivenhereinisforeducationalpurposesonly.Referencetocommercialproductsortradenamesismadewiththe
understandingthatnodiscriminationisintendedandnoendorsementbytheTexasAgriLifeExtensionServiceisimplied.
EducationalprogramsoftheTexasAgriLifeExtensionServiceareopentoallpeoplewithoutregardtorace,color,sex,disability,religion,age,
ornationalorigin.
PublicationRevisedNovember2008

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