Chapter 3 - Utility Pruning Flashcards
a product or service provided by a utility company, such as electricity, telecommunications, or natural gas
Utility service
the sum of all woody and associated vegetation in and around dense human settlements, from small communities to metropolitan regions, including street, residential, and park trees, greenbelt vegetation, trees on unused public and private land, trees in transportation and utility corridors, and forests on watershed lands.
Urban forest
infrastructure used to provide utility services, such as poles, wires, transformers, switches, etc.
Utility facilities
the population of trees that could now or in the future interfere with the operation of utility facilities
Utility forest
maintenance operations scheduled to take place in advance of failure or other problems (contrast with reactive maintenance)
Preventive maintenance
defined area of land, usually a linear strip, reserved for the passage of traffic (e.g., paths and roadways) or the construction, maintenance, and operation of various aboveground or underground utilities. May be granted by easement rights and may cross a single property or many properties (highways, railroads, or utility corridors are common examples).
Right-of-way (ROW)
legal, non-possessory interest in real property that conveys use or partial use, but not ownership, of all, or more typically a portion, of an owner’s property
Easement
process used to achieve the desired long-term form of plant
Pruning system
process of branch removal in which the pruning cuts are made at nodes and in relation to the positions of the branch collar and branch bark ridge
Natural pruning
specialty pruning technique in which a tree with a large-maturing form is kept relatively short. Starting on a young tree, internodal cuts are made at a chosen height, resulting in sprouts. Requires regular (usually annual) removal of the sprouts arising from the same cuts. Callus knobs develop at the cut height from repeated pruning.
Pollarding
pruning system that uses a combination of pruning, supporting, and training branches to orient a plant into a desired shape.
Topiary
(1) cutting leaves, shoots, and branches to a desired plane, shape, or form, using tools designed for that purpose, as with topiary
(2) whole tree removal with devices mounted on excavators or other heavy equipment
Shearing
discredited pruning technique whereby trees are severely reduced to a predetermined shape using heading cuts
Roundover
reducing tree size by cutting live branches and leaders to stubs, without regard to long-term tree health or structural integrity
Topping
pruning cut that removes the smaller of two branches at a union or a parent stem, without cutting into the branch bark ridge or branch collar, or leaving a stub
Branch removal cut
raised strip of bark at the top of a branch union, where the growth and expansion of the trunk or parent stem and adjoining branch push the bark into a ridge
Branch bark ridge
area where a subdominant branch joins another branch or trunk that is created by the overlapping vascular tissues from both the branch and the trunk. Typically enlarged at the base of the branch.
Branch collar
pruning cut that removes the larger of two or more branches or stems, or one or more codominant stem(s), to a live lateral branch, typically at least one-third the diameter of the stem or branch being removed.
Reduction cut
forked branches nearly the same size in diameter, arising from a common junction; may have included bark.
Codominant stem
cutting a shoot or branch back to a bud, stub, or small lateral branch. Cutting an older branch or stem back to a stub in order to meet a structural objective.
Heading cut
slightly enlarged growth point on a stem where leaves and buds arise
Node
material applied to pruning cuts or other openings in the bark of trees, to prevent the spread of pests, or for other specified reasons
Wound treatment
pruning that reduces the size and ensuing growth of a branch in relation to other branches or leaders
Subordination
planned length of time between vegetation management activities
Maintenance interval
Maintenance cycle
shoot arising from a dormant bud or from newly formed adventitious tissue
Epicormic shoots
point where a branch originates from the trunk or another branch
Branch union
poor pruning practice in which an excessive number of interior lateral branches are removed, resulting in a concentration of growth at branch ends
Lion tailing
new wood produced in response to loads to compensate for higher strain in marginal fibers; includes reaction wood (tension and compression) and woundwood.
Response growth
Compensatory growth
Adaptive growth
selective removal of branches to guide and/or discourage growth in a particular direction
Directional pruning
pattern of tree branching characterized by a central leader and pyramidal, cone-shaped crown
Excurrent
a pattern of leaves, twigs, or branches arranged in a circle around a point on the stem
Whorl
chemical that slows terminal growth by reducing cell elongation
Tree Growth Regulator (TGR)
plant with an embryo that has one single seed leaf (cotyledon). Examples are grasses and palms.
Monocot/monocotyledon
large, divided leaf structure found in palms and ferns
Frond
method of pruning that utilizes certain herbicides to selectively control targeted branches, typically applied along the side of right-of-way corridors
Chemical pruning
also called chemical side trimming
vegetation removal using heavy equipment fitted with power saws or other cutting devices, such as saws mounted on booms or suspended from a helicopter
Mechanical pruning
Mechanical control method
An __________ is land over which the utility has a __________ to maintain clearance.
easement
right-of-way
The planned __________ is the time between scheduled pruning operations.
maintenance interval
When it has little or no likelihood of failure or impact to utility facilities, maintenance of the portion of a tree that is outside of the utility easement is the responsibility of the __________.
tree owner
Trees react to structural defects with __________, which compensates for structural weakness.
response growth
Trees or branches that fall from outside utility easements have a __________ impact on service reliability than trees growing into and contacting power lines.
greater
__________ uses reduction cuts to reduce branch length relative to other similar branches.
Subordination
Trees that have been rounded over or topped in the past but later converted to directional pruning may have extensive __________ growth on decayed stubs.
epicormic
As more of the tree crown is removed, subsequent shoot growth is likely to __________.
increase
All of the following are objectives of utility pruning except
A) reducing risk
B) maintaining tree structure
C) providing clearance
D) decreasing wind resistance
D) decreasing wind resistance
True of false:
Utility easements may include only a portion of an individual tree.
True
Reducing or removing branches back to laterals or parent stems growing away from the facility is known as
A) cycle pruning
B) facility pruning
C) directional pruning
D) corrective pruning
C) directional pruning
Which of the following is true of palms?
A) palms can be directionally pruned
B) palms can be reduced in height
C) palms can close over trunk wounds
D) palms can quickly replace removed fronds
D) palms can quickly replace removed fronds
Which of the following is not true of tree growth regulators (TGRs)?
A) TGRs are effective in reducing the rate of shoot growth
B) TGRs have little or no deleterious effects
C) TGRs result in leaves that are smaller and slightly darker than normal
D) TGRs are more effective when applied to slow-growing trees
D) TGRs are more effective when applied to slow-growing trees
Chemical and mechanical pruning methods should be restricted to areas
A) with high residential density and many trees
B) where conventional methods are impractical, such as remote and rural locations
C) where individual amenity trees must be reduced in height
D) with strict regulations prohibiting arborists from climbing trees
B) where conventional methods are impractical, such as remote and rural locations
True or false:
Heavy sprout growth following utility pruning is never expected from healthy trees.
False
