Brisbane's qualified tree care professionals
Trees are a valuable asset to homes in both ecological and aesthetic ways. Beautiful and healthy trees don't come by accident but rather through years of proper tree care and nurturing, from knowing the species and its habitat through to diagnosing problems and alleviating the cause not just throwing chemicals at its symptoms.Our business is focused on ethical and professional advice, based on industry standard scientific data. Too often we see and hear of needless pruning or worse still trees being totally removed as they "might" fail and hit the house. There's no shortage of expert opinions just a shortage of data and options. Be weary of such extreme claims and "free" advice ... and remember once a piece has been cut off it cannot be put back on.
Spend a little time and look over our site, it's tree care focused from the ground up and perhaps a little refresher for those of us who have forgotten our biology. If you want the best for your trees then you're in the right place.
The Benefits of Trees
There's numerous benefits to mention so we have broken them down into some categories as shown below.
Psychological and social benefits of trees
People feel better around trees. Patients recover faster and workers have less days off when trees are incorporated into the nearby landscape and can be viewed. They have a calming, peaceful and soothing effect on us. Roads lined with trees tend have less incidence of speeding and road rage as the psychological effects get to work on our emotions. You would sure be calmer sitting in shade and watching trees in a traffic jam than the alternative.
Trees have been common places for gatherings to be held and have attained commemorative value. Some trees were planted to recognise individuals and events such as memorial trees. The greatest planting is the Avenue of Honour in Ballarat Victoria where 3771 trees line 22km of road. "Between June 1917 and August 1919, a tree was planted for each soldier who enlisted as a resident of the urban area of Ballarat. The trees were planted in order of the soldiers enlistment, and stretched some 22km along the Western Highway, consisting of 3,771 trees". The trees have plaques for each soldier and as you drive through you are surely moved emotionally by the meaning and beauty.
Aesthetic benefits of trees
Screening structures such as buildings, fences, railroads are a common occurence but it actually goes a lot deeper than that. Trees remove the harshness of our cities, break up the shopping mall, park or road to a more visually appealing sight. The trees also add colour and texture, indicate seasonal change, offer attractive flowers and autumn foliage to the landscape.
Environmental benefits of trees
First and foremost the most obvious and necessary benefit is reducing carbon dioxide (C02) and making oxygen (02). Trees do this via a process known as photosynthesis. Carbon dioxide levels are increasing and known to many as greenhouse gas, it's a result of our pollution. Anything to help reduce C02 levels in the atmosphere is a serious benefit. Trees also catch and trap airborne particulates like dust, smog, soot, smoke etc. Run off water carrying pollution is also slowed as trees initially prevent the impact by turning heavy rain to mist beneath their canopies. Tree roots then absorb the water. Trees also recycle the water, approximately 90% of the water absorbed by a trees' roots is put back into the atmosphere as part of photosynthesis and transpiration. Also, 75% of the rain that falls on a forest is returned to the atmosphere by a combination of transpiration and evaporation.
Trees increase rainfall by adding moisture to the air. Deforestation and desertification go hand in hand. Clouds form above forests as rising humid air carrying minute organic matter helps form a nuclei for larger rain drops. Trees also help keep the underground water table down. Wholesale clearing in parts of Australia has led to salinity issues as the trees are no longer there taking up the underground water and recycling it as mentioned previously.
Tree shade cools the ground, lowers temperatures in it's immediate vicinity due to this and transpiration by
as much as 6C. They offer protection against wind and are often used as windbreaks. Evening dew can form on the warmer leaves, ever notice on a cold night that it's actually warmer near a tree?
That's because they tend to maintain a more constant temperature than the surrounding air, some 15C warmer.
They offer a home for many of our friends, the fearful clearing of dead and hollow trees has had a devastating impact on our exotic native birds. Many birds need hollow logs/branches to nest. The new practice of managing this is called habitat trees or habitat management.
Economical benefits of trees
Whilst individual trees may have a value what we are looking at here is the flow on benefits.
Properties with cared for trees actually sell easier and command a higher sale price. Planned street plantings add value to neighbourhoods as shown in the adjacent picture.
Heating costs can decrease in winter where trees or shrubs are planted as a windbreak and as mentioned above trees do have a warming effect as they maintain a higher temperature than the surrounding air. A wise choice is deciduous trees where shading is minimized as the leaves are dropped for winter and perhaps a thicker evergreen hedge or shrubs to block the wind.
Cooling cost can be reduced substantially where trees block the northern and western sun. Trees can be planted far enough away that the canopy doesn't overhang the roof if leaves in gutters is a concern and yet still cast a shadow onto walls etc. The cooling effects also come from transpiration as well as shade as mentioned in environmental benefits of trees above.
Shopping precincts with trees create a calming and positive feeling, retailers have found that sales increase, prices customers pay is higher and by passing traffic is increased. I'm sure you can all relate to such an environment.