CONTINUING EDUCATION UNIT Tree Risk …

The art and science oftree risk assessmentcontinues to evolve as we increase our knowl-edge base and with field experience. Treesdo not fail at random. tree failures are pre-dictable over a broad time range. And treeassessment is not an exact science but ascience nonetheless and one that is constantlyadvancing. An arborist performing tree risk assess-ments must be well trained in biology, treestructure, and tree mechanics. The arboristshould possess a high level of comfort andexperience with the inspection process. Ittakes a trained eye to recognize the subtlesigns of impending mechanical failure. Thepossible result of over-reading these signs isoverreacting. Any existing signs of failuremust be thoroughly evaluated to determinecause. Because every tree is different, perform-ing tree risk assessments is a learning article briefly reviews structural defectsand basic tree process for evaluating the risk oftree failure begins with visual inspection fordefects (visual tree assessment, VTA), followedby sounding for suspected decay and prob-ing, if necessary, with a portable drill, incre-ment borer, or an advanced decay detectiondevice.

CONTINUING EDUCATION UNIT DECEMBER 2002 www.isa-arbor.com 35 Deadwood Dead trees and dead branches can fail at any time. Dead and decayed wood fail at different rates depending on species, mate-

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