Unfortunately, we can say that some of these "evaluations" are almost or absolutely useless for a later field works.
For example, let's look at the following situation: let's say that a local government has ordered a maintenance plan for some parks - so - a procurement is organized, a winner is selected and a job is commissioned.
Work starts - a professional or a professionals army will be coming and investigating - and finally the completed work will be sent to the local government.
The job is serious, its volume is tens of pages for one park - there is a lot of accurate information about the condition of the trees and also the maintenance - we can think, but, unfortunately, browsing the finished work, we have to be surprised to find that most of the dozens of pages are just background information - the history of the park, a lot of beautiful pictures, general talk, all kinds of descriptions and everything else - the only thing that is not there - is the exact description of the health conditions of the trees and the exact description of the work to be done.
Let's take a couple of examples - I have found the following keywords in the sections of health status and maintenance descriptions, for example, when I have flipped through different expert works:
"low tree", "young, beautiful tree", "lesion", "fungal body", "take away some branches", "shell damage", "strain damage", "thickener", "hollow", "strain hole", "dry branches", etc.
What does this information gives to the worker who need to work according to this plan? How company performs the necessary actions based on this information?
And then - the job goes again to the archive, and the company that works on the site has to figure it out and decide how and what to do...
For such work, it could be said that it is a waste of tax money - the local government should not accept such works and pay for it.
There is no need for a specialist to carry out such work, such descriptions may be given by a person who does not particularly know a lot about the evaluation or the mechanics of trees.
In reality, it is not difficult to describe the condition of the tree and the risk factor (to some extent) with simple visible things - you just need to know the way of life of trees and a some of tree mechanics.
For example, there is a widespread perception (in Estonia) that a tree with hollow is dangerous and needs to be cut - this is rarely the case - we can say quite firmly that certain hollow trees are no less dangerous than any healthy tree.
In addition - fungal fruiting bodies in tree trunk - what does this knowledge gives us?
Nothing, if we do not know the type of fungi, the type of rot is caused, and how large is the hollow or decay it has already made.
Also - is a leaning tree dangerous? Many think it is - but there are some rules that can make a leaned tree more stable than an adjacent straight-growing tree.
Etc, etc.
So - what to do and how to improve the situation?
First of all, local government officials who decide on the maintenance, also over life and death of trees, but feel at some point uncertainty, should get to know their area better - so they can demand more precise work.
To do this, they can always turn to the local arborist, the Estonian Arboriculture Society or the Arborist Chamber - if necessary, all of these are believed to be ready to organize the relevant training sessions, study days, or just consult if needed.
Don't be afraid to ask - asking never shows stupidity or inexperience - it shows a person's interest and caring - it shows that the official is worried and wants to get the best deal for our environment.
And the questioning officer is one thing which makes the arborist proud.
Secondly, the arboriculture organizations, federations and schools should think - maybe we can be able to create a simple training center for local governments - the environment is, however, our common concern and every specialist should give a share to their social contribution.
Thirdly, companies that estimates parks or green areas, could involve an external specialist (e.g. arborist) to assess the health status of trees and describe maintenance activities. I believe that the situation will improve considerably.
Fourth, an official who prepares a procurement contract could set out specific things that are not recommended for the job (history, background descriptions - if it is already done sooner - and usually it has, several times, etc.) at the start of the procurement and which are desired (health assessment of the trees, precise care instructions, perspectives, problematic places - real solutions).
Source: Urbandendro
http://ravelreiljan.blogspot.com/
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