Tree Safety

         A tree can fall down because its roots can no longer stabilise it against wind pressure.   A limb of a tree can fall down after it has lost the necessary mechanical strength to support its weight or to resist wind pressure.   If the roots of a tree are able to stabilise it, if its trunk does not have enough mechanical strength, it may break-off and fall to the ground.   

          Tree safety management is based on risk assessment.   A hazard is anything that could cause harm such as falling trees, falling branches, falling trunks.   A risk is the chance - high or low - that someone will be harmed by a hazard.  

           Trees should be inspected at intervals according to the level of risk and timely preventative action when necessary.   The basic questions are:

•    Does the tree show warning signs that it will fall down completely, or a branch will fall off, or that a trunk, or part of a trunk will fall off?

•    If there are warning signs, is there a risk of injury?

•    What remedial action is needed if there is a risk of injury?

Warning signs

These include:

•      Top-heaviness, e.g., as indicated by excessive swaying in the wind.

• Lifting root plate, tearing out of roots, extensive root damage, or root loss.

• Large cracks in the ground around tree roots.

• Cracks or splits in trunk or large limb.

• Broken trunk or large limb.

• Hanging broken trunk or large limb.

• Large amount of decay in a trunk or large limb.

• Forks involving big limbs that show signs of weakness or possible failure at the centre of the fork, e.g., cracks, bark-to-bark contact, hollows that may be water-filled and bulging growth.  Fork failures, leading to shed branches, are more common in beech trees, certain types of willow, poplar, horse chestnut, and ash.

• Signs that the tree is in poor health, or may be dying, e.g., smaller than normal leaves, dead leaves in summer, dead limbs, much fungal growth.

• Cuts and other indications that the tree may have been damaged by machinery, vehicles or browsing animals.

• Frequent exposure to strong wind and signs that nearby trees have suffered wind damage, or have been blown over.

Young trees and saplings are unlikely to present a serious risk of injury if they fall on somebody but large trees, heavy sections of trunk or large branches are more likely present a risk of injury if they fall down. 

Risk of injury - target zones

The area around a tree where it may fall down or shed a limb is usefully seen as a target zone. If there is nobody in the target zone there is no risk of injury when the tree falls down.  The more people that are in the target zone the greater the risk of somebody being hit by a falling branch and the risk is made worse if people are asleep in a tent and are not alert to the danger or do not take avoiding action.   Target zones around trees can be classified as follows:

• Low risk target zone – places that are seldom visited.

• Medium risk target zone – places that are visited from time to time.

• High risk target zone –  places where people can be expected for most of the time or at some times, e.g., camping areas, assembly areas, footpaths, tracks, roads, car parks, work areas, activity areas and buildings in frequent use. Because the way that premises are used may change, the assignment of target zones should be kept under review and changes should be made if the risks change, e.g., a place that was once seldom visited becomes a designated camping area.

Safety inspection of trees

Inspections should be carried out by persons who are competent to spot the warning signs. Some may prefer to employ a specialist contractor to carry out inspections. Judgment is needed and the opinion of more than one experienced person may be beneficial in decision-making.  Binoculars may be helpful during inspection of trees.

Location of individual trees

On sites where there are lots of trees, a sketch map should be made which shows the location of individual trees or groups of trees, e.g., with reference to assigned orienteering co-ordinates.   Ideally, each tree should be uniquely identified, e.g., have an identification tag on its trunk.  This should not be a problem where there are few trees to be inspected.  However, often it may be practicable only to identify uniquely those trees that are in the high risk zone or which are considered to be an increased risk, e.g. trees which are more likely to shed limbs, e.g., beech trees. 

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