Damage to Bark, construction

[ajaake]

I am in the process of purchasing a lot that is heavly wooded. An area has been cleared for the house we intend to build. The developer that is clearing the lot has damaged several large trees, mainly red and white oaks. The bark has been knocked off some of the trees have damage to the actual "wood". Should I be concerned about the health of the trees? Do I need to put some pruning stuff on these areas? Also, he has piled a huge pile of topsoil against a smaller oak (about 8 inches in diameter), I dont think this dirt will be there more than 6 months, should this be a concern do I need to relocate this dirt? I have many pictures that I can post or email. Please help, me and my wife are stressed about this, the beautiful trees are why we bought the lot.

Thanks.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

I'm sure the experts here (which doesn't include me) would be better able to advise you if you post some pics. If they are large, resize them or post them at a free image hosting service.

I like http://www.imageshack.us/ myself, as there's no sign up required. Just upload a photo and go. They'll give you the choice of several URLs to use for posting to forums - use the " Thumbnail for forums (1)" as it works with this forum's software. Just copy & paste the whole thing.

You'll get a thumbnail that can be clicked on to show the whole image, like this:

 

[ajaake]

Here are some pictures taken today. Hope this helps. Looks like some seem to be healing. But I really worry about the deep gouged one.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

All the trees pictured are in trouble.
I noticed there aren't any fences to stop the contractors from damaging the trees. How do they know: where to put the piles of dirt, park the heavy equipment, park their cars, and which trees are being preserved?
Did you assume the builder would protect the trees, or was it part of the contract?

 

[antigrassguy]

I would concur with Mike Mass in that these trees have multiples of issues. This is a classic of "you already know the answer before you asked the question". You will want to contact a qualified arborist, prefer registered consulting arborist, to come to site and help you address these issues and set future plan. This contractor wont be happy, but trees might like it.

 

[ajaake]

We walked the property with the Developer of the the propery/subdivision and he new which trees stayed and which ones had to go. He actually did the grade work, he was not as careful as he could have been. Also developer and builder are 2 different people in this case.

I appreciate your comments, but the issue is not the mistakes made by me or the developer, I'm not posting here to point fingers. I just need honest answers as to what is the future of these trees. "All of these trees are in trouble" is not a constructive answer.

Will some or all of these trees die? What can I do to help them make it?

 

[ajaake]

LOL or East TN. :hmm3grin2orange:

 

[antigrassguy]

ajaake, to make the call as far as your trees, I wont touch. Nature has a way of making a fool of me. From my past construction experience in Wisconsin I would say that trees that have fill pile over them are in for long slow death. Research soil compaction and the function of roots. Also critical root zone. A start would be go to www.treesaregood.com (ISA site) and scroll till you find info on pre and post construction. I believe its toward bottom. In a nut shell roots need air and water in macro-pores to live. Compaction=micro-pores Even if soil is removed it will need aeration. Might want to check out armillaria as well. As far as wounds, made by heavy equipment?, compaction, they will need to be cleaned up and inspected as they are severe. Research cambium and its function and location. Is oak wilt an issue in your area? There is much research on tree paint and general consensus is that it is no good unless to mask the hormones scent the tree produces during attempt to close, in a oak wilt area so bugs will have harder time finding.
So remove soil over root zone and "dress" tree wounds. Aerate critical root zones under all trees you want to save and maybe add mycorihza. Both kinds. If oak wilt is an issue then have oaks injected as a preventative. In other words, it isnt easy to undo whats been done. But than trees try really hard to live with us and some can.

 

[treeseer]

"Will some or all of these trees die?"

They will all die. Everything does. Your wounded trees will now die sooner because of the wounds. You may be able to buy them some years by following antigrass's good advice. The hack work done by the developer/grader has increased the risk and decreased the value of your property. That is the issue here.

Check your contract for ways to recover your lost value. Pointing the finger now may help your trees, if it persuades the guy to realize his mistake and lessen the damage. It may also change his ways before he rapes your neighbors' lots too. Show him this:
http://www.treesaregood.com/treecare/avoiding_construction.aspx

"What can I do to help them make it?"
http://www.treesaregood.com/treecare/treatment_construction.aspx

You need a qualified arborist to look at your site and decide which trees are worth keeping, and which to put out of their misery and get out of the way.

 

[ajaake]

I cannot describe to you how angry it makes me to watch somone carelessly run their heavy equipment through the woods and tear up trees and then say "they'll be ok". I was born at night but not last night. Whats even more messed up is the fact that the land is not cheap.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

Will some or all of these trees die? What can I do to help them make it?

Over ninety percent of tree roots grow in the top 12" of soil. This is where the soil Oxygen is at a high enough level to support growth. If you put 12" or more fill over existing roots, you have essentially lowered the O2 level to a point that will kill all the roots.
How long can the fill be on the roots before they die? Smaller roots start dying immediately, while larger diameter roots can hang in there for weeks, even months.
Another problem with fill is compaction. Once you put huge loads on the surface of the soil, whether it's a pile of fill, or the machine that pushed it there, you compress the air spaces out of the existing topsoil. This limits the Oxygen that can make it into the soil.
The tree pictured, that has 6 feet of soil piled on it, will need to have the fill removed. Whatever equipment that is used needs to stay away from the critical root area.
Removing the bulk of the fill will be simple, an excavator could be parked 30 feet or so away and pull the soil off the roots. The problem is when you get near the original grade. A large piece of equipment will easily dig into the original grade and damage roots. When you get down to the last foot of fill, it needs to be removed by hand to avoid digging in. Don't be temped to run a bulldozer or bobcat over the roots to push away the last of the fill, use a scoop shovel and rake.
Once you're back to grade, you're still in hot water. The top soil is now compacted and it will not un-compact on its own. The best tool is an air spade, or similar device, along with an experienced arborist operating it.
He will use the tool to work the soil with a jet stream of air that displaces soil with minimal damage to roots. Depending on what he finds, he may need to spend several hours loosening soil and adding amendments, all while keeping the area moist.
Finally, he will top dress with compost and mulch.
Because the project is not finished, he will need to build a sturdy fence around this and any other trees that are being preserved. Not a little plastic fence either. To be respected, it will need to be something heavy duty, like a chain link fence with posts pounded several feet into the ground.
If you follow these steps, I'd give the tree better than 50% chance of survival.
To address the huge bark injuries, I'll first let you know that trees can survive such injuries, but how well they do is dependent on age of the tree, its health and vigor, growing conditions, and the species of tree.
When I see a photo of a tree with a large trunk injury, and then notice the entire root area is ripped up and/or buried by heavy construction equipment, I know it has a very dim future. The tree is spending all its energy repairing roots, there won't be much left over for the bark damage or other disease defense.
So again, the trees best chance is with a qualified arborist repairing the root and soil damage.
If you remove these trees, it only opens up the next row of trees to damage, so I'd be tempted to leave them stand as protection.