When we were looking to buy a house in Kyogle town, about nine years ago, one of the great attractions of one property we were interested in, was the large hoop pine in the backyard. Venerable, it’s been described as; at about 30 metres in height and pre-dating the establishment of the town.
Our neighbours had another hoop pine of similar size in their backyard. From parts of the main street,
they looked like a pair. We could point to them and say we live below the one to the left. So it was a little disconcerting to get a text message from the neighbour while we were away a few weeks back, saying their tree had come down in a storm the previous night. Half of it was now in our backyard.
Will it fall?
On return, neighbours and others wondered when we were getting ours cut down. ‘It’s a very big tree,’ they’d say. ‘What if it falls?’
‘What if it doesn’t,’ we’d say. Araucaria cunninghamii can live up to 400 years and grow much taller than ours. Where’s the respect?
Many people have a fear of large trees, particularly in urban areas. But while trees do sometimes fall, the fear is often irrational, out of proportion to the risk. A recent report from the United States says people are around 10 times more likely to die from falling out of bed, than from a falling tree.
Trees are an essential part of what makes an area liveable. They reinforce a sense of place and offer a connection to the natural world. Our magpies are endlessly entertaining and accept us as part of their world. And trees are increasingly important for the cooling effect they provide.
We decided we needed to have the tree properly assessed by a qualified arborist. If the tree was dangerous we would have it taken down. What we wanted was someone who does not rely on their chainsaw for their income. And by qualified we are talking about level five in the Australian Qualifications Framework.
At this level, arborists consider three things about a tree and its situation: the likelihood of failure; the likelihood of hitting a target, such as a house; the consequence of failure. We had such an arborist come and assess our tree, along with the neighbour’s fallen tree for clues it might offer.
Identifiable risks
The fallen tree had a number of identifiable risk factors. First, visible bracket or shelf fungus on the lower trunk. This is a hard fruiting body protruding out like a bracket, or a shelf. This causes decay of the heartwood and weakening of the tree. There is no treatment for this. Once a tree has it, the rot has set in. Rot was visible in about 60 per cent of the tree at the base, mostly on the southern side. A resin or gum was evident on the outer bark. This is the tree’s natural defence mechanism and is a visible sign of trouble within.
The base of the tree had a build-up of vegetation and leaf litter around it and the ground was quite damp. It’s possible a nearby driveway had diverted water run-off to the base of the tree. An area below the tree had been terraced and it seems likely this caused some damage to the tree’s roots. These impacts are likely to have been from events at least ten years ago. It can take a long time for the damage to have an effect.
Our tree had none of these risk factors. Its surface roots were checked and all found to be live tissue with no damage. There was no visible sign of decay or damage to the trunk.
The recommendation was to keep the area around the base lightly mulched for about three metres and keep all grasses and other growth clear for about 30 centimetres. The fallen tree, on its way down, knocked several branches off our tree, leaving rough short stumps, which are prone to fungal or insect damage, so having these trimmed was recommended. Later, when the tree climber was doing this, a number of magpies swirled around in curiosity, or perhaps as a warning.
On its way down the hoop also took down a large Chinese elm in the neighbour’s yard, which is little loss. We lost nine trees that were all around eight years old and well established. Crushed under the mass of the hoop pine. They can easily be replanted.
Among the canopy we found a small mountain of electrical cable and wire pieces. Very durable nesting material. We have reformed some of this back into a nest and it hangs from our verandah as a reminder of our neighbouring fallen tree. And our tree, our venerable hoop pine remains.
The assessment cost several hundred dollars. But the cost of having the tree removed would be far, far greater than this. So if in doubt, or if in fear of a tall tree, have an inspection done. Be certain the assessor is properly qualified for the job. You get peace of mind and, perhaps the opportunity to preserve a piece of nature’s grandeur.
A fun fact
Finally, a fun fact about the fine print of an insurance policy. If a fallen tree does not cause property damage, the insurance does not cover clean-up. Given we had a quote for $8,000 we were pleased the tree had wiped out part of the fence. Pleased also that it missed the house.
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