Tree Friendly Urban Soil Management: Assemble, Assess, Assist, Astound

Summary: Tree friendly urban soil management assesses soil density, microbes, moisture, nutrients, organic matter, pH, salinity, structure and texture by site.

Soil density and porosity are indicators of soil health; urban soil compaction is a common problem that interferes with root penetration, soil aeration and water infiltration: USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Public Domain, via USDA

The article Managing Soils That Support Urban Trees (Part One) in Arborist News for June 2015 analyzes sites and soils for microbial activity, moisture, nutrients, organic matter, pH, salinity, structure and texture.

Tree friendly urban soil management begins with soil assessment to "determine soil characteristics and conditions that may limit tree or shrub development" and may require mitigation. Both field-based and laboratory-analyzed site and soil assessment information also can communicate such resource- and time-saving guidelines as matching tree species particularly suited to site conditions. The conditions being assessed, site size, soil variability and tree size determine the depth, location and number of samples for biological, chemical and physical property analysis.

Sampling "locations and depth(s) within the soil profile that provide information necessary to make recommendations" emphasizes drip-line, fertilizer-friendly, fine-root, 6- to 8-inch (15.24- to 20.32-centimeter) depths.

Collections at random or in grid-like patterns within defined areas and from subdivisions with similar management, slope or species characteristics facilitate large sites and multiple samples.

Comparative sampling governs sampling "areas where trees have a problem and comparing the result to those from nearby areas where trees are non-symptomatic, unaffected, or undisturbed." Site conditions and soil properties hamper or hasten the timing for steel, tubular soil sampling probes 0.75 to 1.75 inches (1.90 to 4.44 centimeters) in diameter. In contrast is the feel method of kneading moistened soil into ribbons for ascertaining textural composition and size of soil particles by grittiness, length and smoothness.

Tree friendly urban soil management juxtaposes particles structurally arranged into air-, organism-, root- and water-supportive aggregates, judged by excavating soil from large holes, and soil textures.

Construction, pedestrians and vehicles keep otherwise friendly soils from knowing proper root penetration, soil aeration and water infiltration through compaction's decreased pore space and increased density. Bulk density, as "weight of soil (mass) per a unit volume" in kilograms per cubic meter or pounds per cubic foot, lends resistance to root growth. Porosity manages inverse relationships to density and moves air, organisms, root and water effectively and rapidly in "well-aggregated soils with large continuous pores in the surface." Site irrigation rates necessitate noting water infiltration rates, as time for 1 inch (2.54 centimeters) of water to move into a 6-inch (15.24-centimeter) hole or ring.

Water as measuring tool in deionized mixtures with soil offers tree friendly urban soil management 5.5 to 6.5 power of hydrogen (pH), optimal for temperate treescapes.

Proper irrigation and pH promote access to macronutrients nitrogen and potassium, calcium, magnesium and sulphur and micronutrients boron, chlorine, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum, nickel and zinc. Evaporation in arid regions, groundwater and spray along coasts and salt-heavy amendments, de-icers and fertilizers in temperate zones quicken high soil salinity, moisture and pH stresses.

Soil organic matter, as currently or previously living animals and plants, remediates many soil-related problems and responds best of all soil quality indicators to management practices. It sequesters contaminants and serves soil aeration, aggregation, infiltration, microbes, nutrients, percolation and resistance and stabilizes pH best at 3 to 10 percent of topsoil weight.

Tree friendly urban soil management teams density, infiltration, nutrients, pH, porosity, structure and texture, according to co-authors Wes Kocher, Bryant C. Scharenbroch and E. Thomas Smiley.

Air and water are present in good soil structures: USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Public Domain, via USDA

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to:
talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet;
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for superior on-campus and on-line resources.

Image credits:

Healthy Soil Is a Heavyweight: USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Public Domain, via USDA @ https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/national/soils/health/?cid=stelprdb1143204

Healthy Soil Is Active Soil: USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Public Domain, via USDA @ https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/national/soils/health/?cid=stelprdb1143204

For further information:

Gilman, Ed. 2011. An Illustrated Guide to Pruning. Third Edition. Boston MA: Cengage.

Hayes, Ed. 2001. Evaluating Tree Defects. Revised, Special Edition. Rochester MN: Safe Trees.

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Scharenbroch, Bryant C.; Smiley, E. Thomas; and Kocher, Wes. June 2015. "Managing Soils That Support Urban Trees (Part One)." Arborist News 24(3): 12-17.
Available @ http://html5.epaperflip.com/Viewer.aspx?docid=12d9beb0-a0a3-46ad-af92-a4a000f756ea#page=24