Introduction Street trees can meaningfully contribute to slowing traffic and creating safer urban streets — an important benefit that is often overlooked. When thoughtfully integrated into a streetscape, trees can reinforce lower driving speeds, help define the roadway and create visual and spatial separation between vehicles, cyclists, and pedestrians. Street Design Influences Driving Speed A… More
Originally written by Nathalie Shanstrom in 2014; reviewed and updated by DeepRoot in 2026. As discussed in previous blogs, trees and soil systems provide stormwater benefits in many different ways: Cleansing: Trees clean stormwater through many different mechanisms, including filtration, adsorption, and plant uptake. Interception: Interception is the amount of rainfall temporarily held on tree… More
Can you estimate a tree’s diameter at breast height (DBH) based on its caliper measurement? The short answer is no. Caliper and DBH both measure trunk diameter, but they measure it at different heights and are used for different purposes. There is no reliable formula for converting one to the other, but the chart below… More
Raingardens and bioretention facilities have much in common: both use soil and vegetation to collect, slow, and filter stormwater runoff. That is why the terms are frequently used interchangeably — even by stormwater agencies. Generally, however, rain garden describes a smaller and less engineered landscape feature, while bioretention refers to a stormwater practice designed to… More
One of the most common questions posed when beginning an urban forest project is: how wide do tree roots grow? The answer is almost always: wider than you think. Tree roots frequently extend well beyond the edge of the canopy, which means the visible dripline is only a starting point — not the boundary of… More
Original post created in 2013 by Ellyn Shea and Leda Marritz, updated in 2026. What do trees really need? Sunlight, water, nutrients, and enough soil for their roots to grow. Pruning is different. Trees evolved for millennia without people cutting their branches, and many trees naturally shed dead or weakened limbs over time. So, strictly… More
A common assumption in urban tree design is that tree roots do not grow more than 24” below the surface. There’s a reason this idea has stuck around: in many city environments, roots are indeed concentrated close to the surface. Urban soils are often compacted, poorly drained, oxygen-limited, interrupted by utilities, or constrained by pavement… More
Soil structure is one of the greatest influences on pore space in soil, and how easily air, water, and roots can move through a soil. Many people are aware of what soil texture – proportions of sand, silt and clay – they are dealing with on a site; however, few people consider a soil’s structure,… More
Original post created in 2015 by Ronda Roemmelt and Leda Marritz, updated in 2026. One of the questions we are frequently asked is, “How often do you root prune?” The short answer: not every tree needs it. Root pruning can be a valuable tool for preparing certain field-grown trees for transplanting, particularly when they need… More
Remarkable Objects is a DeepRoot podcast about the intersection of nature and urban design. We think the question of how we construct cities is central to how well we function as a community. How can we incorporate nature into our cities in new, meaningful ways — creating healthy, sustainable places for people? What are the… More
Healthy trees can grow in even the most challenging urban environments, provided they receive enough water, soil, sunlight, and appropriate care. Vigorous urban trees help keep people healthier, cool cities during the summer, reduce energy use, support wildlife, raise property values, and make communities more welcoming. Yet heat and drought in many parts of North… More
Susan Day and her team at Virginia Tech published a paper earlier this year about a soil rehabilitation technique called Soil Profile Rebuilding, or SPR. They were looking for a way to rehabilitate soils damaged by land development in a way that would restore their biological function and be more supportive of plant growth. I… More
Soil. Stormwater. Sustainable Infrastructure.
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