Tree ArboristTree arborists, also know as arborists, tree surgeons, or arboriculturists, or tree experts are professionals specially trained in the management, maintenance, cultivation, and study of trees, vines, and shrubs and other perennial woody plants. The practice of arborists is focused on keeping trees healthy and safe in their environment, either in the forests or built up human environments. Among arborists themselves, there are those that specialize on one aspect of tree care and those that are generalists. Some areas of specialism for arborists are pest and disease control, pruning, predator control, lightening protection, structural support, tree removal, tree planting and tree transplanting. Many tree experts are certified arborists, having obtained their certification through the International Society of Arboriculture or ISA, which beyond certification also provides education, produces research and acts as a trade organization for the tree care industry. In order to become a certified arborist through the ISA, an arborist must have at least three years of experience in tree care and pass an exam in order to become certified arborists through the ISA>
In the context or urban tree care arborists are the experts who maintain trees so that they are suitable to property owner and community standards, which can be of an aesthetic or safety nature. Tree in urban contexts are faced with unique stressors that are not present in natural contexts. In order increase the likelihood they that they survive and thrive, arborists employ a number of techniques and practices in the care of urban trees. For example, a trees crown may be too low to allow people and vehicles to pass underneath it but it is desired that the tree remain in the environment and not be removed. A solution to such a problem could be crown raising, or crown lifting. In this practice, the lower branches of a tree are removed. Another example of common arborist practice is crown reduction. In crown reduction the size of a tree's canopy is reduced. Crown reduction can reduce the weight of hazardous limbs, balance and tree left unbalanced due to external damage, prevent a tree from interfering with a building or overhead power or telephone wires. Related to crown reduction is crown thinning which is a less drastic form of cutting away parts of a tree's crown. Like with any specialized profession, arborists have specialized tools to do their work. Perhaps the most essential tool of an arborist is the saw. Besides the ubiquitous chainsaw various kinds of hand saws are used by arborists. Saws are important because so much of the arborist's job, particularly the urban arborist's job involves cutting of some kind. Another group of common tools include those related to climbing, like rope, spurs, rigging and harnesses. Climbing gear is necessary because many arborists need to climb trees for a number of reasons, for instance to prune a tree, examine it for damage or disease. Because climbing a tree is inherently dangerous, arborists are trained in the safest most effective techniques to climb trees and complete whatever task necessitated the climb. Related to climbing equipment, modern arborists use heavy equipment like bucket trucks, also know as cherry pickers to safely reach the heights of trees. In addition, bulldozers, backhoes and cranes, wood chippers and stump grinders are also used by arborists. One way to tell the level of professionalism, sophistication and skill of an arborists is to see what equipment they have, generally speaking, the more the better. |
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