7 Guides to Protect Trees During Rebuilding

Planning is essential when doing construction near mature trees because any change in environment causes stress on trees. While keeping the trunk and branches of the trees safe from harm is obvious, the most significant damage can be to the tree's roots. Roots provide the nutrients a tree needs and anchors the tree in the ground. Here's some ways to protect trees during construction.

Step 1 Prune dead limbs and broken branches to maintain tree health during construction. Water the entire root zone and use a good fertilizer to sustain the tree's strength.

Step 2 Place a root protection zone border around each tree. The width of the zone depends on the size of the tree. A good rule of thumb is 2 or 3 feet beyond the drip zone, the point where water drips from the tree's branches. Use caution tape, wooden stakes or other barriers to mark the border and post "protected tree" signs.

Step 3 Limit access to the trees to avoid dirt compacting around the roots. Find alternate routing for heavy equipment or build bridges over the tree root zone for trucks and other traffic near the trees.

Step 4 Move fill-dirt around carefully. Adding just 2 to 6 inches of soil can cause serious damage. Extra soil adds weight which smothers roots. Additional soil also changes the drainage around the tree.

Step 5 Tunnel under roots or use an auger instead of digging trenches for utilities. Use hand tools if you must to dig in the tree's root system. If is necessary to dig through roots, avoid cutting those over 1 inch in diameter and immediately cover exposed roots.

Step 6 Remove as few trees as possible. Remaining trees are exposed to elements they have not encountered before. Increased exposure to sun, wind and snow will affect the trunk and crown of a tree.

Step 7 Leave the natural contour and shape of the land near a tree as undisturbed as possible. Grade changes can affect how the tree functions and may lead to root destabilization.