Tree Risk Assessment Sydney: Everything You Need To Know

Tree risk assessments help us determine a tree’s health and the likelihood of branch or tree failure. It is done only by certified arborists and is crucial in keeping a household, business, or public space safe from falling hazards or obstruction.

By assessing a tree’s health and the likelihood of failure, you can determine whether it poses an immediate threat to property or people. After that, a certified arborist should recommend removal or rehabilitation to the owner.

How Arborists Evaluate Tree Risk in Sydney

Several factors come into a tree risk assessment. Some of which are as follows: 

History of the Tree

Certified arborists would look into the tree’s age, history of previous branch failures, and health conditions. Knowing so would help them evaluate the likelihood of failure and at which parts. Besides, finding tree borers and history of pest infestation can also give away the tree’s current health condition.

Current Tree Health and Vigour

Observing the tree’s bark condition, leaf colour, season, and canopy density will help an arborist determine the tree’s current health and vigor. In many cases, we’ll look at the quantity of deadwood attached to the tree and how pruned branches have healed.

Any unusual healing patterns and a low-density canopy indicate a tree’s declining health. Your arborist will then evaluate the necessary treatment or removal procedure.

Tree Profile

Each tree species has unique growth patterns, structure, and maintenance needs. Each tree removal and pruning project is done with a case-by-case risk evaluation. Some trees have shallow roots and risk uprooting over gusty winds.

In other words, a tree’s species is crucial for a proper risk and failure assessment as it will determine which treatments and removal process is necessary.

Crown Thickness and Density

If a tree’s crown has uneven density and a lot less foliage on its top-centre branches than the rest of its canopy, it clearly indicates that a tree’s health is declining. 

Potential Failure and Cutting Points

Suppose a tree is situated in a crowded suburb or public location. In that case, removing and pruning will expose nearby properties and people to a significant risk of damage and injury. Certified arborists take the time to properly analyse the tree’s failure points and how to remove a branch with as minimal risk as possible.

Moreover, arborists will assess a branch’s likelihood of failure – its probability of breaking and falling due to disease and decay. The higher a tree or branch of failure, the more you need an arborist to remove it.

Failure Consequences

As discussed, a certified arborist will put safety above anything else and evaluate the consequences of a tree or branch failure. That includes evaluating a tree’s location, proximity to people or properties, flora and fauna directly under a tree, and anything nearby that may be damaged due to failure.

If the only consequence of failure is damaging a fence or a shed, our arborists may advise pruning and preserving the tree’s health. But if the decaying tree has the potential to injure or risk of casualty, we will recommend immediate removal.

Risk Mitigation

As qualified arborists, we value every tree’s life, growth, and contribution to its surroundings. But when a tree is close to its point of failure, we will not risk someone’s life in exchange for a decaying tree.

Risk mitigation is key to every tree pruning and removal project. We always ensure the community’s overall safety and will do our best to remove the tree with as little impact on its surroundings as possible.

Can All Sydney Arborists Perform Risk Assessments?

That’s not quite the case. The term arborist is quite broad and includes various specialists in the same field. That said, not all arborists can perform and verify risk assessments.

Arborists come in many types, two of which include:

• Consulting Arborist – One that performs safety inspections, reports, pest and disease treatments, and arborist reports.
• Working Arborist – One that performs most tree services, including removal, trimming, pruning, and landscaping.

Moreover, arborists also have varying qualifications and certificates. A Certificate III in Arboriculture is required for working arborists, while a consulting arborist should have a diploma in Arboriculture.

At Trees Down Under, we take pride in our certified III licenced arborists and qualified staff to carry out a risk assessment and perform safe and efficient tree removal services.

Are Arborist Reports Included in Risk Assessments?

Depending on your local arborist, they could issue an arborist report at your disposal, and the local council or city will request it for tree removal.

Usually, we will not provide an arborist report for small removal projects as it typically incurs extra fees for the project. Nevertheless, we’ll properly communicate our assessments to our clients and even bring you along the tree pruning or removal to ensure we convey our recommendations.

But if your city or local council is fighting to preserve the tree and you have requested its removal, we can provide an arborist report complete with safety and long-term risk assessments.

Partner with a Credible Sydney Arborist For Your Tree Risk Assessment

Trees Down Under have provided safe and affordable Sydney tree removal services for residents and businesses for over 11 years. We have trained and educated our in-house staff to implement a tree risk assessment case-to-case basis and execute hazard-free tree removal, stump grinding, and tree pruning projects.

You can reach out to us at 047 463 597 or chat with us to ensure safety, reliability, and transparency on your next tree risk assessment in Sydney. Brief us in on your arborist requirements and project details, and we’ll get back to you with a free quote.

How Many Trees Are Planted Everyday in Australia?

Australia’s foliage and tree population are massively diverse, with thousands of tree species spanning various lengths and life spans. As a country with 17% of forest cover, you might wonder how many trees are planted daily in the country.

To give you an accurate figure about Australia’s tree trend, we looked into private and government data to determine an accurate estimate and its impact on the environment.

Australia’s Forestry Industry and Wildlife Conservation

Knowing the size of Australia’s forestry industry is crucial to estimating how many new saplings grow in Australian soil. As of 2018, more than 70,000 people are employed in the forestry and processing industries. That excludes volunteers and non-profits who implement tree-planting initiatives in forest reserves and critical areas.

The sheer number of employees and volunteers actively participating in the tree-planting advocacy is important in justifying the number of trees planted daily.

Furthermore, the increasing demand for forest products and a drive toward preserving Australia’s indigenous forests are diving daily figures. That’s because the country only harvests 0.06% of its forest cover for production and keeps roughly 2 million hectares protected in critical locations.

Industry, Government, and Non-Profits Driving Numbers

As Australia’s food and wood industries grow, local councils implement tree-planting initiatives to curb the impact of deforestation and replenish lopped trees. Statistics show that Aussies are planting more than 191,700 trees daily or up to 70 million trees annually.

WWF: Towards Two Billion Trees

In 2018-2022, Australia also allocated $20 million to ramp up its timber and wood industry, pushing it further with non-profit initiatives like WWF Australia. Towards Two Billion Trees is a WWF-Australia initiative aiming to save 780 million trees and grow 1.56 billion new trees over a ten-year goal.

In other words, the non-profit looks forward to planting about 427,400 trees daily. This is quite far from the real-life figure stated above, but the 100K figure only counts trees planted by industries and excludes non-profits.

If we include environmental volunteers in the picture, we’ll get closer to WWF’s ten-year goal.

Landcare Australia: 20 Million Trees Program

The Australian Government’s National Landcare Program commits to planting 20 million native trees across the country over five years. That’s roughly equal to 11,000 trees a day. This initiative aims to generate a self-sustaining ecosystem that provides habitat for native wildlife and restores threatened ecological communities.

The 20 Million Trees Program connects local communities to Landcare organizations and volunteers to cover acres of barren land, curb Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions, and capture carbon from the atmosphere.

Trillion Trees Australia

Formerly known as the Men of the Trees, Trillion Trees Australia has planted over 15 million trees and understory. In 2021, the non-profit organisation planted 54,000 trees – about 150 trees per day.

Quick Facts on Tree Planting

It’s great to see different organisations plant varying numbers of trees per day. But it’s just as crucial to know its impact on Australia’s climate.

Here are some quick facts about the impact of planting trees on Australia’s climate and biodiversity:

• More than 1 million acres of forest reserves need new trees to cope up with long-term deforestation and wildfires.
• Expert planters can plant saplings within 10 seconds, while volunteers can do so before a full minute with minimal training and sufficient equipment.
• A fully-grown shade tree can make commercial spaces up to 6 degrees cooler during the summer.
• Trees will improve Australia’s water quality, provide oxygen, and stabilize soil structure against flooding and erosion.
• Planting trees support biodiversity and provide natural habitat, and helps protect endangered species.

Are We Cutting Down More Trees Than What We Plant?

Other countries have been significantly better at balancing tree planting and cutting for decades. However, that’s not the case for developing countries. But in a nutshell, we’re planting fewer trees annually than we are cutting them.

Local cutting services prove to have very little impact on the global average. Massive ground clearing and deforestation for commercial use offsetting our tree planting daily rate.

But by planting one tree when you can, you’re contributing to the global agenda and adding one more tree to Australia’s number of new saplings daily.

Final Thoughts

There isn’t a single answer as to how many trees were planted daily in Australia. You’ve seen how each non-profit, industry, and government agencies produce widely varying figures that span tens of thousands apart.

What matters is that each tree planted will grow healthy and contribute to preserving the country’s green space.

Trees Down Under, the Sydney tree removal specialists help preserve local and commercial properties with a range of tree care skills and state-of-the-art equipment. We’ll ensure your green space stands out while keeping your garden safe from the risks of old and barren trees.

We’ll even grind the tree stump and give you an array of tree and garden services, depending on your needs. Our team has worked and removed all common trees that pose a significant threat to your residential or commercial property.

For your next tree pruning, removal, and other tree services, feel free to contact us at 047 463 597 or chat with us, and we’ll get back to you with a free quote.

We are the perfect solution for your garden.