Development necessarily creates giant swaths of constructed areas that have no unifying ecosystem. It also disturbs existing natural areas that are part of the natural cycling of water, minerals, chemicals, plants and animals. Yet despite these complications, density is valuable in terms of impact mitigation on a per-person basis, as least as far as pollutant… More
Sure, one is on the street and one is in a park. But surely there is a better middle ground for urban trees?
In March the CBC Community Blog asked people whether cell phone towers look better when disguised as trees. The results were pretty clear – over 71 percent of people said yes.
All areas of study and their industries have to cope with inaccurate but often widely accepted mythologies, and arboriculture is no exception. There are a few of these that we encounter again and again. We’ve already busted the myth that tree roots don’t grow very deep, but here’s another one: do deep soils increase the risk… More
Today we have another reprinted post from Bert Cregg, an Associate Professor in the Department of Horticulture and Department of Forestry at Michigan State University. It originally appeared on his blog, The Garden Professors. As usual, the beginning of spring is a busy time on the research side of my appointment. This past week we began setting… More
In February, the U.S. Forest Service published a report indicating that cities around the country are losing around 4 million trees per year. Of the 20 cities included in the study, 17 showed significant losses of canopy cover, and 16 showed significant increases in impervious hardscape (or paved surfaces that don’t absorb water). At the same time,… More
This post is by Bill Spiewak, an arborist in Santa Barbara, CA, and originally appeared on his blog, Treemendous. Last month in my arboriculture class, I may have implied to my students that this instructor is falling off the deep end. I asked them to stand and assume the yoga position, tree pose. My objective… More
Phytoremediation is the use of green plants and their associated microorganisms to stabilize or reduce inorganic and organic contamination in soils and surfacewater or groundwater. In other words, the process of using trees and other plants as biological filters. It is also a key component of what we mean when we talk about ecosystem services… More
Trees are effortlessly artful. This artfulness may be part of why they have such a calming and restorative effect on people and can elicit such powerful emotional attachment. Trees are also functional infrastructure. You can debate which role is more valuable, but from an economic standpoint, infrastructure usually wins hands-down. That’s one reason why recent… More
Last month’s Landscape Architecture Magazine had an interesting feature by Mike Singer. The article, titled “Are We Done Yet? Measuring for a project’s success is keeping clients and designers engaged well after installation,” explores an emerging trend in the field: extended contract periods to address the long-term success and performance of the site’s landscape.
I’m going to start a new mini-featurette on the blog, which I’m calling “Big Tree, Little Tree.” Just side-by-side pictures of dramatically different-sized trees, highlighting the effect each creates on a streetscape. These were both taken in San Francisco’s Mission district. The little guy was in especially bad shape for at least one obvious reason.
Jake Sippy of Design Workshop has some nice words for Jim Urban’s book, Up By Roots. I thought the salient points that stuck with him from the book were very valuable, and worth repeating. For those of you who don’t own the book or haven’t been to an Up By Roots workshop, I highly recommend… More
Soil. Stormwater. Sustainable Infrastructure.
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