Assessment of Tree Forks Course Notes

These course notes were designed to increase understanding of the aerial structures of trees – branch junctions in particular – as to how they form, how they react to loading and how likely they are to fail. The notes also aim to improve awareness of the connection between branch-to-branch interactions and mature tree crown development, and what types of tree surgery work may unwittingly give rise to more failures of branches and tree junctions. The findings reported stem from very recent scientific investigations at the Universities of Hull and Manchester, in association with Myerscough College, Lancashire.

The ‘Fork Workshops’ in 2016 were run by Dr. Duncan Slater, who produced these course notes to support course attendees in their learning. Dr Duncan Slater is senior lecturer in Arboriculture at Myerscough College, an AA member and chartered forester, who has published several recent papers on tree junction anatomy and their biomechanical performance as part of a PhD in Plant Science from the University of Manchester.

Message from the Author:
These course notes for ‘Assessment of Tree Forks; Assessment of Junctions for Risk Management’ provide a means of categorising the likelihood of failure (L-of-F) for junctions in trees based upon a simple inspection method, and introduce the importance of ‘natural braces’ to tree inspection and tree surgery work. Natural bracing in trees is a phenomenon that all arborists should take into account prior to carrying out any work to the crown of a tree.