However, when you finally get that “Eureka!” moment and find a match, what follows is a rush of adrenaline and an excited flurry of research. In the meantime, having a distinctive species smugly sit in front of you while being unable to identify it is hair-tearing.

Never has this experience been more pronounced when I was faced by this species at Bukit Brown Cemetery.

I felt stupid for the longest time when I could not figure out the name of such a distinctive plant with its absurdly large tri-lobed leaves. The specimen shown above is a small one. Mature individuals in the cemetery reach about 15m high.

Big leaves. Colleague for scale.

It was only when I ran into its cousin the Common Mahang (Macaranga bancana) that something clicked. This is the Giant Mahang (Macaranga gigantea). While the leaves are similar in shape to the Common Mahang, they are much larger, and its twigs do not contain mutualistic ants like its Common cousin.

Its role as a pioneer species fit the Bukit Brown Cemetery perfectly. Closed to new burials in 1973, secondary rainforest has been slowly reclaiming much of the area. Large tracts of open disturbed land? Perfect for the Giant Mahang.

Given enough time, these trees are eventually overtaken by larger, shade-tolerant competitors. However, the copious amounts of small fruit that it produces while it is alive ensures dispersal by animals to other open areas.

The post The Giant Mahang first appeared on CSK Landscape Services (S) Pte Ltd - Professional Arborist Services.

Inspection Types:

Level 1: Limited Visual Assessment (eyes only inspection, on foot, drive-by etc)
Level 2: Basic Assessment (ground level inspection with simple hand tools)
Level 3: Advanced Assessment (climbing may be involved along with diagnostic equipment.)

These are often modified to collect additional data that clients deem important and within available timeframe and resources.

For example, in a large estate with thousands of trees, trees situated away from human habitation may get a Level 1 assessment, while trees close to road junctions or of a certain girth size receive Level 2 or 3 assessments on a more frequent basis.

Evaluating Tree Risk:

Tree Risk is evaluated in the following way,

• Grade the likelihood of failure of identified tree parts (could be branches, trunk etc).
• Grade the likelihood of the part actually landing on targets in the event of failure:
• Combine likelihood of failure and impact into an overall likelihood grade using a matrix
• Grade the consequences of failure.
• Now we have all we need to give the risk a grade…through another matrix,

Risk rating matrix

The risk rating gives a good gauge for prioritizing remedial actions. It is worth stressing that every part of the process, not just the final rating, is important. An insufficiently thorough assessment level cannot give enough information for a reliable risk rating, while an overly excessive assessment level wastes time and resources.

We hope that this gives the public a better idea of how tree risk is evaluated, this is but a brief explanation of the risk assessment process. Full tree risk assessment courses and manuals should be available from the Centre for Urban Greenery and Ecology (CUGE).

Sources

https://i1.wp.com/greenscenenz.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/healthhaz.jpg?resize=640%2C303

The post What does it mean when a tree has been inspected? first appeared on CSK Landscape Services (S) Pte Ltd - Professional Arborist Services.