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Although living trees can provide many decades of economic and environmental benefits, it is a truism that with increasing age trees also represent increased risk of failure. In time, every living tree will either fall over or be cut down. Thus, responsible enjoyment of the benefits that trees confer upon society requires acknowledgment and management of the risks collateral to those benefits. Fortunately, most tree failures caused by compromised structural integrity are associated with external symptoms or indicators that were present long before the failure event.
Because trees are dynamic, growing and changing entities, and because ALL trees represent some level of risk, diagnosis and assessment of hazard-status often rely heavily on the professional experience and judgment of the diagnosing arborist. Clients requesting that tree-hazards be addressed may be assisted using Visual Tree Assessment (VTA) protocols concentrating on external symptomology.
Trees exhibiting signs of latent decay or structural defects may be more invasively assessed using:
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