| [College of ACES] | [University of Illinois] | [Illinois CES] |
I applaud your efforts in attempting to include educational material regarding arboriculture on your web site, since the only way to ensure that trees are safeguarded and appreciated is to educate our youth. It seems that you are trying to simplify arboriculture, as your web site appears to be aimed at children. Unfortunately, there are certain sections that could be interpreted as mis-leading.
'The Importance of Your Trees' para 3, inc "Trees are the greatest collectors of the suns energy, all energy comes from the sun and our trees collect and store more of it than anything else in the world". Have you considered the accepted fact that the majority of the earths atmospheric oxygen is produced by marine algae! I would be interested to know if there is any scientific data to support your own claim. By the way, what actually constitutes "anything else in the world"?
'The benefits of Pruning Your Trees'. While I agree it can be conducive to tree health to remove crossing/rubbing branches and dead wood, the removal of live tissues not affected by chaffing is NOT favourable to tree health. You are endorsing up to 20% foliage removal. It is totally inaccurate to suggest this to be benificial to tree health, since the reduction in photosynthetic matter does place stress on the symplast network, a physiological response to re-address this loss (depending on specific species) is to initiate epicormic shoots from dormant buds. As we approach the millenium, our knowledge should be utilised to educate others in a scientific understanding that will encourage respect for trees. I cannot comprehend how you can compare to the cutting of hair to removing photosynthetic bio-mass. Comparisons like this breed ignorance and keep arboriculture in the dark ages.
I hope I did not offend you, for I realise that you are a well meaning human being, but perhaps you should consider a career change!
Yours
Matt Delaney HND Arboriculture
Practice Consultant (Manchester Office UK)
Keith Thelwell Tree Care Services