Survey of Campus Trees to Start this Week

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – A team from the Davey Resource Group, a national firm founded in Ohio in 1880, will be at the University of Arkansas beginning Tuesday, April 22, to conduct a survey of the approximately 4,500 trees on campus. The survey is being done in coordination with OLIN, an international landscape architecture, comprehensive planning and urban design firm, which is preparing a Campus Landscape Design Manual for the university. The tree survey will evaluate the condition of the trees on campus as a first step toward an overall assessment of the campus’ natural resources. The goal is to enable the U of A to improve the overall health of its natural systems, use the trees as an academic resource for teaching and research, and accurately target maintenance resources for better efficiency.

“Our trees are a valuable and beautiful asset to the larger campus,” said campus planner Jill Anthes. “The university is looking for yearly and long-term recommendations for pruning and canopy maintenance, planting programs, ecological systems, and management plans to keep our trees and landscapes sustainable, attractive and healthy.”

The survey is expected to take two or three weeks to complete.

During that time team members will also present lectures on arboriculture to several horticulture classes on campus.

The Davey Tree team will consist of two arborists certified by the International Society of Arboriculture. They will do overall risk assessments on each the tree, looking for problems such as pests, structure damage, cavities or decay and rating each tree on a risk scale from 1 to 10.

Davey’s foresters will use handheld computers loaded with information and aerial photographs from existing geographic information systems to mark the location and record specific details of each of the trees.

“Davey Tree is probably the most reputable company in this field in the nation,” said horticulture professor Curt Rom. “The fact that the university is bringing national leaders in arboriculture to campus to conduct this survey indicates how much we value our arboretum, and the importance we give it.

“This survey will provide us a great deal of base information for future planning and management of the university’s natural systems,” he added. “This will include data to help us determine the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by our trees on campus, setting a baseline for the university’s goal of becoming carbon-neutral.”