It’s great to see the fungi making an appearance at this time of year.

 

The fungi pictured below was found in the center of Belfast. I always love going out while carrying out tree surveys in Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland and finding new species. Not all fungi are harmful to trees and most have a beneficial effect.

Penny buns or Porcini Mushrooms are often associated with Birch trees. The collect nutrients from the soil and in exchange get sugars from the tree.

A fascinating world beneath our feet.

Puffball fungi Found during a tree survey in Ireland
12
May, 2020
An ancient Birch tree

The Birch with many tales to tell.

This Silver Birch tree was found during a recent tree survey in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The tree is in a great shape for its age. The tree has many years ahead of it and is well protected within private grounds. The tree survey also found quite a few smaller Birch trees scattered around the property. Progeny perhaps. Birch are considered sacred by many native people around the world due their their multitude of uses from firewood to wine making.

A great tree to find and have around.

Case Study- Tree survey in South Belfast

Andrew from Tree Survey N.I was approached by an Architect client who required an arboricultural impact assessment in South Belfast for a large scale residential development.

The client had heard about Andrew through another satisfied customer.

The main issues were a series of large Root Protection Areas which formed a major constraint to the developable land.

The development included a number of subterranean structures and was unsure how to proceed.

After a site visit, Andrew assessed the situation and provided a quote along with some initial feedback on what could be realistically achieved.

The client was keen to proceed and an initial tree survey was carried out.

A detailed report was generated with tree constraints information added. This included accurate crown spread and Root protection areas or TPZ’s.

The survey found that a number of mature trees were in fact in a poor condition with internal decay. These trees were marked for removal irrespective of the plans for the site. This automatically increased the developable area.

A slight change in the final shape of one of the buildings was all that was required to totally avoid all of the remaining Root protection areas and allow the planning application to be passed by the council’s tree officer.

Tree safety inspection. A beautiful day in Mourne country.

Today I was tasked with the inspection of 3 mature trees growing within a woodland setting.

Trees within a woodland can be considered low risk in most circumstances due to the lack of foot traffic around them.

In this case however, these trees overshadowed a very busy mountain biking trail.

With this in mind in conjunction with a conservation mentality the decision has been made to reduce the trees to Monolithic poles. Monoliths offer a resource to wildlife but lessen the risk to adjacent targets.

Obviously retaining the tree and letting nature take its course would be fantastic in an ideal world but trees in busy environment must be managed. However there are alternatives to total removal which should always be considered. These alternatives allow the tree to remain for a while longer and offer a positive contribution to the health of the woodland of which they are members.

If you have trees which you suspect may be dangerous, get in touch for a chat with Andrew at Tree survey N.I on 07834895556