Other Common Tree Surgery Terms
Below we have listed some of the more common terminology used by arboriculturists and tree surgeons, often in quotations and written reports or surveys. Our objective is to help customers of Bawden Tree Care to make informed and considered decisions when commissioning work on their tree stock.
- Adaptive growth: process whereby the rate of wood formation in the cambial zone, as well as wood quality, responds to gravity and other forces acting on the cambium.
- Adventitious bud/root/growth: a bud, root, or shoot that forms other than through primary development.
- Arboriculturist: an individual who, through relevant education, training and experience, has attained recognised expertise in the care of trees.
- Arisings: any parts of a tree, including stem, branches, roots, leaves, bark and other woody material, that is derived from the tree during tree works.
- Canker: area of dead cambium and overlying tissues killed by a pathogen.
- Cavity: a hole in any woody part of a tree caused by decay or damage.
- Co-dominant stem or branch: upward growing stem with a similar height and disposition as another stem or branch.
- Coppicing: cutting trees close to ground level with the intention of encouraging re-growth of multiple shoots.
- Crotch: forked region formed by the junction of a branch and the stem, or by two branches.
- Crown: main foliage bearing part of a tree.
- Crown lifting: removal of lower branches to achieve a stated vertical clearance above ground level or other surface.
- Crown reduction: work completed that results in the overall reduction in the height and or spread of the crown of a tree by means of a general shortening of twigs and or branches, whilst retaining the main framework of the crown.
- Crown thinning: removal of a number of small, live branches from throughout the crown to achieve an even density of foliage around well spaced and balanced branch structure.
- Epicormic growth: bud, shoot or branch initiated on a mature wood stem or branch.
- Heartwood: dead or predominantly dead central core of tree species whose sapwood has finite and pre-determined life.
- Included bark: bark tissue lodged in the union between a branch and the parent stem, in the crotch of two branches, or between the bases of co-dominant stems, indicating potential weak attachment.
- Knuckle: swelling that forms at a point of pollarding, particularly after repeated cutting.
- Lapsed coppice or pollard: a tree that has been coppiced or pollarded but not maintained by cycles of cutting.
- Pollard: a tree that has formed a crown consisting of numerous branches arising from the same height on a main stem or principle branches.
- Pollarding: cutting a tree so as to encourage formation of numerous branches arising from the same height on a main stem or principle branches.
- Retrenchment pruning: form of crown reduction intended to encourage development of the lower crown, which emulates the natural process whereby the crown of an ageing tree retains its overall biomechanical integrity by becoming smaller through the progressive shredding of small branches.
- Ripewood: older central wood of those species in which sapwood gradually ages without being converted to heartwood.
- Sapwood: outer, living, water conducting part of the wood of a tree.
- Stem: principal above ground structural component of a tree that supports the branches. (Trunk)
- Stub: broken or severed short remaining section of a branch extending beyond a crotch.
- Target: person or object, whether mobile or fixed, within the potential zone of impact of a tree or its branches, which might be harmed as a result of the partial or total failure of the tree.
- Topping: removal of most or all of the crown of a mature tree by indiscriminately cutting through the main stems.
- Veteranization: controlled infliction of damage on a tree to achieve a specific habitat objective.
- Veteran tree: tree that, by recognised criteria, shows features of biological, cultural or aesthetic value that are characteristic of, but not exclusive to, individuals surviving beyond the typical age range for species concerned.
- Vitality: overall measure of physiological and biochemical processes, in which high vitality equates with near optimal function.
- Water pocket: natural depression or crotch in a tree that holds water.
- Wetwood: condition living in trees where the wood develops an abnormally high water content and water soaked appearance.
- Work area: area designated for the safe execution of the specified work.
- Wound: injury or damage caused to a tree by physical force, natural or otherwise.