Arboricultural Association – Thames & Chiltern Branch, presented by Dr Glynn Percival of Bartlett Tree Research Laboratory.
It has been widely recognised that a significant proportion of new tree planting fails to survive to maturity. The Trees in Towns II report highlighted that as much as 20% of all planting undertaken in the public sector actually fails. Although there has not been any comparable survey undertaken in the private sector, anecdotal evidence indicates that the failure rates are similar. The new British Standard 8545 Trees: from nursery to independence in the landscape – provides recommendations for transplanting young trees successfully from the nursery, through to achieving their eventual independence in the landscape.
Aims of this presentation will focus on:
1) Pre and post-planting management systems that aim to provide independence in the landscape. Emphasis will be placed on ensuring the planting site is ‘fit for purpose’ i.e. soil nutrient content is optimal for future tree growth and issues related to compaction and poor drainage have been identified and remediated. The benefits and negatives of soil amendments to include pure mulches, biochar and natural fertilisers will be highlighted.
2) BS 8545 recommend systems of measuring tree vitality to include leaf chlorophyll content, leaf chlorophyll fluorescence and electrolyte leakage. The advantages and disadvantages of these systems will be discussed.
It is anticipated that on the day practical demonstrations of points 1 and 2 will be available.
Saturday 12th July 2014, 09.30 – 13.00
£20 including refreshments (booking required)
Location: Seminar room 1, Cedars Hotel conference centre, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading. There is free parking on campus with no restrictions at the weekend.
Directions: From M4, Junction 11 M4.
– Take exit B3270 (B3550) signposted Earley, Shinfield and Arborfield.
– Take first exit at next roundabout into A327 (Shinfield Road) towards Reading
– Straight through three sets of traffic lights and The University will appear on the right.
-Enter by Queen’s Drive entrance. Follow Queens Drive around the perimeter of the sports ground on the right. Turn left at car park 8.
– Continue across staggered cross road and follow road around to right. Turn second left after bend in road into car park 9 or 15. The Cedars (55) is a short walk from here.
For SatNav, the postcode for the conference centre is RG6 6AX
