Forest list archive: msg00064

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Re: raising soil levels around established trees



*The intent is to raise the
*dykes somewhere between 0.5 and 1 metre.  Does anyone have
*any experience with raising soil levels around trees or have any
guesses
*as to the effects of raising the soil level and what can be done to
*ameliorate the changes?
*Thanks for your help.
*Margaret Penner


A scientist could better answer this but I did see one case worth
mentioning. While in New Jersey, I found a case where a developer piled
soil a little better than1.5 - 2.0 meters around two fairly healthy,
large, mature American chestnut trees  killing them in 2 years.  (Of
course mature American chestnuts aren't what you would consider a model
of health and a perhaps a red oak would have managed fine. )

Intuitively, I believe the problem arises with the burying of the roots
too deeply than they were intended, effectively choking off the tree
from moisture, nutrients, beneficial organisms such as fungi, etc, etc.
 But then again trees are fairly robust  like people who have become
perfectly satisfied  living with smog and traffic, a tree could perhaps
become accustomed to being buried if performed gradually.  If the soil
raising could be done in gradual stages, say .25 - .5 meters/year, it
might ameliorate the stress of burial.  But again that's a guess.

Regards,

John Vona



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