Urban Arborists has particular expertise in assessing the causes of tree and branch failures in urban and suburban settings. Because we deal with such problems on a daily basis in our field work, we have a deep database of experience regarding the consequences of all the different shocks to which urban trees are exposed. We also have long experience with the relative tolerance of different species to similar problems. We also have excellent resources - both in the scientific and municipal communities - to get reliable guidance in specific situations.   

Tree Inventories

Tree inventories are a favorite task at Urban Arborists, because they let us get to know entire landscapes through the lens of their trees and shrubs. We locate and accurately identify and measure plants. We assess their health, condition and prognosis. We also suggest remedial or mitigation treatments, when needed. We like to make these surveys the framework for longterm care. 

Succession Planning

Taking the knowledge we gain from inventories a step further, we love to envision the development of canopy and understory as venerable, older trees retrench and we introduce new trees to mature into replacements.  Through succession planning, the individuals or groups stewarding landscaped open spaces can work to ensure the preservation or restoration of aesthetic or historical legacy, to preserve or enhance environmental services, or to transform and renew aging treescapes.  

Valuation

Assigning a value to trees requires wide knowledge, practical experience, and the careful weighing of alternatives. Although there are objective criteria for assessment, their application requires many subjective judgments. All valuation at Urban Arborists is done by our experienced arborists. The work is done for individual trees as well as for whole landscapes. Recently, for example, Logan performed the valuations for the hundreds of trees that had to be removed to make way for the new Yankee Stadium. 

Tree Protection Plans 

The best way to avoid tree loss during construction is to have an arborist prepare a tree protection plan.  Tree Protection Plans lay out the space requirement for existing trees, detail specific ways and means of protection, and can help stakeholders decide which trees are most worthy of preservation. They can also detail remediation recommendations for trees impacted directly or indirectly by construction activity.  

Root Crown Investigation

We use root crown investigations in a few different situations, most often either to determine the presence of girdling roots where they are suspected, or to assess the potential impact of planned or proposed excavation on the roots of particular trees.  Work in this dense city, it is often not feasible to build without encroaching on a tree’s growing space.  With a root crown investigation, we can judge the size, number and depth of roots that have the potential to be damaged and provide our clients with the information they need to make decisions 

Tree Risk Management

To determine whether or not a tree is a risk is a serious job. It is not just a matter of filling out a standard form and adding up the numbers. Because we look at every tree from the widest point of view, we have long and deep experience in evaluating the condition, stability and longevity of trees. Because we like trees, we tend to be conservative -- maintaining them wherever possible -- but if we determine that a tree is hazard, we do not hesitate to recommend its removal or deep retrenchment. We also skilled in risk assessment through aloft inspections, where our climber teams work directly with the arborists to make assessments of trees for any defects found aloft. 

Maintenance

Maintaining the woody plants in gardens and landscapes means managing the soils, the water, and the potential antagonists. Urban Arborists makes plans that assess all three and create detailed recommendations that promote the long-term health of the plants. These are not blanket recommendations, but are based on a complete evaluation of the growing environment. Plant Health Care recommendations are provided with key pests, timing for treatment, and a custom list of remedies, all of them organic or biorational.