Tree Root Imaging at a Historical Site: In-Depth Assessment of Tree No. 1 – the Copper Beech Tree - Case Study
Background: A mature Copper Beech tree is located in a prominent position at a historical site in the United Kingdom that is known for its archaeological significance and is a major tourist attraction. The tree is of significant amenity value in this public place. It is also very close to a proposed development and is likely to be impacted by the construction of planned new structures. Its presence is also a major constraint to archaeological excavations and construction work. In order to gain in-depth information on this tree so that informed judgments could be made, several assessments were undertaken and reports prepared.
The following is excerpted from Treecare Consultants Ltd's report with their permission.
'One of the assessments was a tree root area inspection (February 2007) using the TreeRadar non-invasive root inspection system. Due to the complex nature of the landscape around the tree, it was deemed unlikely that the tree’s root morphology would be typical. This landscape includes underground archaeology, a sunken retaining wall to the north and sunken footpath to the west. To determine the actual tree morphology so that the real impacts on the tree could be more accurately assessed, a non-invasive scan was undertaken using the TreeRadar system. The inspection was conducted by Fujikura Europe Ltd (FEL) personnel under the supervision of Treecare Consultants Ltd who were the arboricultural consultants.
A number of different types of scans were conducted: (1) 4 semi-circular scans around the
tree on the grassy slope, (2) 5 parallel line scans over presumed archaeology under grass
surface to the west of the tree, and (3) 1 line scan over tarmac to the south of the tree.
The data from these 10 scans was sent to America to be analyzed and a report was produced. This information was translated by Treecare Consultants Ltd to produce a tree root morphology plan. This plan shows the likely position and distribution of the assessed roots. The roots are likely to extend well beyond the points of assessment particularly in the open ground to the south and west.
Results: The root scan detects tree roots down to a minimum of 1.3cm (0.5in) diameter, but does not (presently) differentiate between various root diameters. Tree roots will increase in diameter close to the tree stem. The main findings were:
a) Tree roots extended to a maximum depth of 55cm (22in) below the ground surface.
b) The majority of the roots occurred in the middle horizon between 27cm (11in) and 50cm (20in) below ground level. There were very few roots below 50cm (20in) and these appear to be “droppers” or anchor roots.
c) A moderate amount of roots appear to be surface roots occurring in the top soil horizon to a depth of 27cm (11in).
d) Tree root density was notably thicker in the open grass area to the west and south in comparison to the east. Tree roots in this area are likely to be restricted by the underground archaeology such as subterranean walls.
e) A single scan was undertaken to the north adjacent to the sunken retaining wall. Several roots were found in this area. It has not been verified at this stage whether these are tree roots or remnants of roots of the previously removed shrubs.
Tree Morphology Plan View. Using the above results and the 2D planar root maps (“virtual trench”) and 3D top-down root map (“virtual excavation”) created from the 10 root scans and provided in TreeRadar’s report, Treecare Consultants Ltd personnel constructed a tree morphology figure that combined the results of the semi-circular and line scans into one, overall top-down plan view as shown below. The roots are color coded as per the legend in the figure to show their depths. (Figure 1)
Root Inspection Trenches. Two root inspection trenches were dug to check the accuracy of the predicted root layout and density based on the TreeRadar non-invasive inspection as shown in Figure 2.
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