these Open Championship Clubs choose to relief grind - Pitchcare

Inonothius dryadeus - fungal bracket Honey fungus on a stem
An important element to any strategy
is having a risk management programme
whereby trees will be subject to regular
inspection, especially older trees.
In order to prepare a meaningful
strategy it is important to have a
comprehensive inventory of tree
resource.
When managing trees on a golf course
for risk, certain criteria need to be
considered. The landowner has a duty of
care under the occupier’s liability act to
ensure that anyone entering onto the
land is not at risk of injury. Therefore, it
is important that trees, or parts of trees
that are potential hazards, have been
identified and appropriate action is
taken.
In the event of an incident, in order to
avoid being held legally responsible for
that incident, a landowner must be able
to prove due diligence and show that all
possible and reasonable precautions have
been taken, and that proper checks and
records were made.
When undertaking a hazard risk
assessment, an important consideration
is the potential target. Where a tree with
defects is located in an area, which is
rarely, or occasionally used by golfers or
staff, it may be acceptable to retain such
a tree which, if it were in an area of
frequent use, would warrant immediate
felling.
When assessing trees, an
understanding of the trees biology and
growth habit are important, together
with a knowledge of the diseases and
defects that are likely to affect them.
There are three areas of a tree, which
need to be reviewed:
1.The roots, root buttresses and lower
stem
2.The stem and branch structure
3.The foliage
Each area will have specific issues that
may need attention.
As trees age, they are more likely to be
affected by root and butt rots. These are
decay fungi, which are part of the natural
environment, which can weaken the
structure of the timber in the tree and
render it prone to failure. The fungi are
often tree species specific. Different fungi
have different pathology and, whilst the
presence of some fungi can mean the
risk of immediate failure, others are very
slow degenerating fungi and their
presence may not require immediate
action. For example, the presence of
Ustulinia on beech is usually very
serious, whilst Beefsteak fungus on oak is
a manageable pathogen.
Decay fungi produce brackets, fruiting
bodies (mushrooms). These can be
annual, and annual brackets are seasonal.
Dryads saddle appears in May/June, and
Giant Polypore appears in the autumn,
late August-October. The brackets can
also be perennial, that is they remain on
the tree and often increase in size every
year.
Being able to recognise each fungal
bracket is important, and appreciating its
significance is critical. Field guides such
as the Arboricultural Associations
publication An Arborists’ Field Guide -
Fungi on Trees, is a very useful booklet to
identify the various common fungi that
cause problems for trees.
It is important to examine the base of
Technical
trees for basal cavities, wounds on root
buttress and movement or cracks in the
soil, which can be an indication of root
problems even in the absence of fungal
brackets.
Problems with trees can also manifest
themselves on the tree’s stem. Loose
bark can be an indication of stem decay.
Excessive peeling bark on sycamore can
be an indication of Sooty bark disease,
however, this observation should be
cautioned with the normal bark peeling
of a similar species, plane trees.
Bleeding cankers, both bacterial and
fungal, will produce tarry exudates from
the bark, which can be terminal for some
species, such as Horse chestnut infected
with Pseudomonas syringae pv aesculi.
Structural defects may also show up on
the stem, such as spiral cracks, increment
strips, and buckling and loose bark. Bark
creases and cracks are often an
indication of internal weakness in the
stem.
The presence of ribs on the stem, these
are protrusions on the stem, which are
indicative of an internal crack. Pointynosed
ribs are often more dangerous
than snub-nosed ribs. Non-uniform
swellings in the stem can be an
indication of internal defects and
possible failure points.
The crown of the tree can also pose
problems, especially in mature trees such
as unions, which are points of potential
breakage. These are most problematic in
maples and beech.
Trees which have been previously
pruned and that have produced
regrowth, which is often multi-stemmed,
can be at risk of breakage due to top-
“A tree strategy provides a clear
rationale for ensuring that adequate
resources are allocated on an
ongoing basis”
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2012 PC 107