Tree care might sound relatively simple when you first think about it, but the reality of specialist tree care is, in fact, far more involved than many people give it credit for. From the expert botany knowledge required to having a good understanding of preservation and risk assessment, there’s a lot more to this field than meets the eye. Today we’ll be going over just some of the challenges that a tree surgeon faces during their work and how they use their specialist skills to overcome them.

When To Prune And When To Remove

Knowing when to prune a tree versus when it might need removal altogether is one of many decisions a tree surgeon has to make in their work. Sometimes a tree has to be removed for the health of the surrounding trees, while on other occasions it has the potential to damage buildings. Alternatively, a tree might be diseased and risk spreading without immediate removal.

Tree care is all about having the knowledge and expertise to make these kinds of decisions. For that, tree surgeons have to be experts in arboreal diseases, growth rates, and how different species are affected by different treatments.

Preservation And Protection

Of course, tree care is, when you get right down to it, about looking after trees and much of this work is about preserving and protecting trees for as long as possible. Remember that some trees can live for hundreds of years, and, as such, they deserve real attention to ensure that they’re protected and looked after.

This can mean anything from consulting on local construction projects to ensure that trees aren’t damaged to putting up protective fencing in order to make sure that people don’t come too close to the tree and risk accidents. In this regard, a tree surgeon provides a valuable source of knowledge alongside their work.

Understanding And Assessing Risks

Finally, one of the most important jobs a tree surgeon can perform is risk assessment. This can mean assessing the risk to a tree – as we mentioned before – or the potential risk from a tree to people. This can happen as a result of falling branches or evening trees being blown over in storms. In really bad cases, old trees can smash into buildings or powerlines, causing major damage to the local area.
Ultimately though, tree care is about ensuring that we can have trees in our spaces, be they nature preserves or public parks, without causing danger to people. Tree surgeons ensure that we can work with nature to incorporate it into our lives in a way that’s beneficial for all of us.