Trees are Being Lost at High Rates
Mature trees are being lost at unacceptable rates due to development, drought, pests, and overall inattention. This loss is devastating, as trees provide essential ecosystem services as well as brings beautiful nature into our city. Some benefits of trees include the following: provides shade in parks, supports wildlife migrations and habitats, cools down sidewalks, streets, and buildings, filters harmful particulates from the air, reduces storm water runoff, encourages active living, and brings character to our neighborhoods.
Some trees are reasonably cut down because they pose an unacceptable risk to lives and/ or property – but sometimes healthy trees are removed because of “perceived” risks, they stand in the way of views, and undocumented reasons. While there is no such thing as a completely safe tree, only a small number of reported risks actually fail. There are well established methods to make evidence-based decisions about tree health, thus proper tree risk assessments must be conducted by licensed officials before proper removal is conducted.
By understanding and addressing possible risks associated with trees, YOU can make your property safer and prolong the lives of private and street trees.
Mature Trees are Key
Mature, healthy trees provide the most ecological, biological, and environmental benefits of any other tree in their developmental stages. These “ideal” trees take a long time to grow, making them a huge asset to communities around not just our city, but the world. When a mature tree is removed, it will take a minimum of 20-30 years for a newly planted replacement tree to provide equal benefits of that of the removed tree, therefore already established mature trees are the most important to protect.
Parks serve as a beautiful oasis of nature for those who live and/ or visit San Diego. Many people can enjoy some of San Diego’s most mature trees in our parks, such as Balboa Park’s famous Moreton Bay Fig tree which was planted in 1915 and is now listed in the California Registry of Big Trees.
In a perfect world, even if urban trees are kept well maintained, each species has a finite life expectancy. Thus, urban forestry needs to plan accordingly by keeping record of tree health and replacing trees that are at the end of life and/ or are drastically declining in age and condition.
Key Principles of Tree Health and Protection.
Get in contact with a certified arborist through our arborists page
#1 – Know how to care for your trees
#2 – Hire a licensed arborist for tree maintenance
- Why hire an arborist
- Arborists should be Tree Risk Assessment Qualified (TRAQ)
#3 – Require arborists to document tree risks
- Have them complete the detailed Basic tree risk assessment form (more info in Instructions for the form ) OR ask TRAQ-certified arborists to clearly communicate and document tree defects, consequences of failure, and tree pruning that can reduce risk to an acceptable level
#4 – Defend your trees
- If trees have low or moderate risk of failure, be ready to defend your trees, their shade, and the joy they provide for your home and neighborhood.
Irrigation is Key
Trees need to be watered, especially in a drought. Homeowners can access more specific watering information at Save our trees. Property managers and landscapers can apply drought tree watering practices outlined at Trees in Drought .
Tree watering teams are also a great way to ensure that neighborhood trees are being cared for even while in drought. Establishing these teams creates jobs, ensures the trees are watered in areas with poor irrigation infrastructure, and will better protect the tree canopy cover in historically underfunded and under served neighborhoods.