by Rahul
One of the factors for predicting the tree stability is the type of soil near the tree. In our research, we found that compacted soil near a large tree impacts the stability of the tree.
The soil of a tree can be different because some trees are sturdier than others. The soil of a tree can be mushy or strong. The trees that have stronger soil are going to withstand strong and roaring winds; trees with mushy and soft soil are going to be blown away when there are strong and roaring winds. If the surface soil is less than 3 feet and roots are about 3 feet the tree is moderate; therefore, if the tree is in a hurricane, it will be greatly disturbed. If the tree roots go into the second layer of soil, it is very stable because the roots are long. If the tree roots go into the third layer of the soil it is extremely sturdy because the longer the roots, the more stability. If the surface soil is deep, the tree’s anchoring will not be very stable. The direction the tree is growing depends on the type of terrain; the more steep the terrain trees will bend or grow straight up. Some trees bend because they always want the brightest spot (phototropism), this usually happens in a forest because there are many trees growing near each other. It is better for the tree to grow straight up because it can withstand stronger winds than the curved trees.
The hard question here is how do we measure the quality of soil. In our research we stumbled upon several scholarly articles on this subject. One such article was published by Morton Arboretum, in Texas and talks about developing an index that reflects soil quality - A Soil Quality Index for Urban Trees
The soil of a tree can be different because some trees are sturdier than others. The soil of a tree can be mushy or strong. The trees that have stronger soil are going to withstand strong and roaring winds; trees with mushy and soft soil are going to be blown away when there are strong and roaring winds. If the surface soil is less than 3 feet and roots are about 3 feet the tree is moderate; therefore, if the tree is in a hurricane, it will be greatly disturbed. If the tree roots go into the second layer of soil, it is very stable because the roots are long. If the tree roots go into the third layer of the soil it is extremely sturdy because the longer the roots, the more stability. If the surface soil is deep, the tree’s anchoring will not be very stable. The direction the tree is growing depends on the type of terrain; the more steep the terrain trees will bend or grow straight up. Some trees bend because they always want the brightest spot (phototropism), this usually happens in a forest because there are many trees growing near each other. It is better for the tree to grow straight up because it can withstand stronger winds than the curved trees.
The hard question here is how do we measure the quality of soil. In our research we stumbled upon several scholarly articles on this subject. One such article was published by Morton Arboretum, in Texas and talks about developing an index that reflects soil quality - A Soil Quality Index for Urban Trees