Picture a schematic drawing for, say, a downtown revitalization project. You’d see bustling businesses, new bike lanes, colorful signs, and rows and rows of identical trees. As an arborist, horticulturist, and landscape architect I’ve given a great deal of thought to plant diversity over my career, and this practice of only planting a single species is… More
DeepRoot’s Silva Cell has been installed in dozens of rooftop projects around the world. Whether it is on top of existing structures such as parking garages, or a garden terrace atop a new construction project, Silva Cells can help create structure, bio-retention for tree roots wherever installed. There are two types of green roof installations,… More
I’ve always believed in nature’s processes to manage compounds in the environment. Even as a young undergraduate engineer, I often wondered why we are removing natural systems like trees and soil rather than working with them, why we weren’t protecting and bolstering those systems in ways that enhanced their natural mitigating processes. The (relatively) recent… More
Many factors affect tree health. Are they all equally important or are some more important than others? According to Kim Coder, PhD, Professor of Tree Biology & Health Care at the University of Georgia, soil compaction is by far the biggest constraint on tree growth. In a 2007 paper, he wrote, “Soil compaction is the most… More
– Silva Cells solved the 2009 CSO stormwater transition during the Marquette and 2nd Avenue (MARQ2) busway project, mitigating stormwater runoff. – Over 167 trees were installed along 48 blocks of downtown Minneapolis each with 588 ft3 (16.6 m3) of soil volume. – Above ground, the trees provide shade, clean air, and beauty. Below ground,… More
Creating a Standard for a Green Infrastructure Sidewalk This is the first of a series of five posts featuring case studies that illustrate the need for a paradigm shift for how streets and sidewalks are designed and constructed. This new paradigm for Green Infrastructure is based on Creativity, Collaboration, and Compromise (CC&C), and is demonstrated… More
A question we’re sometimes asked is, “can Silva Cells be cut?” Meaning, can they be modified in the field to fit around obstructions? The short answer is no. We do not advise cutting or in any way modifying individual Silva Cells. Think of it like playing the game Jenga, where you stack up rectangular wood… More
Developing Green Infrastructure in Cities Requires a Paradigm Shift The imperative of dealing with climate change has generated the need for cities to develop “green” infrastructure. The development of green, environmentally ethical, infrastructure needs upstream support from politicians and policymakers to succeed. It also requires fundamental changes downstream to the way plans for streets and… More
We have a lot of resources about implementing minimum soil volumes for urban trees on this blog. Recently we’ve updated our list of municipalities that have a minimum soil volume standard. Trees need an adequate volume of root, oxygen-rich soil to thrive, and minimum soil volume policies are a powerful tool for arborists and other advocates… More
For those with a mission to enhance urban forests, it is vital to have the latest statistics for urban forest or urban tree canopy coverage. In 2010, we shared a chart by Watt and Gunther highlighting the percentage of urban tree canopy (UTC) (urban forests), broken down by city in the United States. Both the… More
Soil. Stormwater. Sustainable Infrastructure.
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