ISA HK/China --- Introduction to Wood Decay Fungi (WDF)

*** Our weekly Station Mail is for the information of Station Members only, but Station Mail has given up copyright & can be freely circulated. For administrative reasons, comments from outsiders are usually not entertained & may be circulated within our system locally & overseas. Please note Station Mail is sometimes given in Blog at http://isahkchina.blogspot.com/ , although images are usually not attached due to size. ***

Dear Station Members,

An important part of Arborist's work in practising is Tree Inspection & Risk Assessment. This kind of specialist work would require all training of the Arborist & would demand all skills & knowledge of the practitioner. Not every Certified Arborist (CA) would like to take up the work of Tree Inspection & Risk Assessment due to personal competence & the legal liability involved. CA is held to a higher Duty of Care in Court & putting down the CA no. on an Arborist Report is a legal commitment. Identifying decay in tree is an important part in this kind of work.

Decay in tree is mostly caused by the micro-organisms called Fungi. There are hundreds of thousands kinds of fungi already discovered in the biological world & luckily only a handful would cause decay in living trees, whereas the others would decay dead trees (Saprophytes). In carrying out Tree Inspection in HK/China, Fungal Decay is a common occurrence in a lot of our mature trees.

This Station has taken some time to study & research into the vast topic of Fungal Decay in Trees already. Mycology is the name of the game & it is a huge & complex subject indeed. There are lots of textbooks & websites with good description in Mycology, but most would go beyond the need of an Arborist. Arborist would only need to know primarily the Wood Decay Fungi (WDF) for the work rather than antibiotic fungi, yeasts & parasitic fungi which are not of great relevance to our practice. Therefore in here, we focus on what we want & leave the rest to other experts.

Decay in living trees appeared to be mainly caused by two groups of fungi : the Basidiomycetes (BM) & Ascomycetes (AM). BM is the largest & most common of the WDF, & they are frequently known as Conks & Mushrooms. About 500 of the BM group are responsible for decaying living trees. The AM group is smaller in quantity & only a few significant species have been found to rot living tissues. Both BM & AM are capable to rot dead tissues (Saprophytes) which will lengthen their survival period in a natural environment. By doing so, they have become a threat to living trees & they would inflict wounds caused by natural processes such as sudden temperature change, or through artificial processes such as incorrect pruning.

There appears to be 3 common types of wood decay in living trees:

1. White Rot --- This is said to be the most common type of wood decay & the WDF responsible will first degrade the Lignin & then digest away the cellulose, leaving behind a white or bleached appearance in the decayed wood. White Rot is said to cause less wood strength loss then other rots in the initial stages of decay & Zone Lines would usually appear in the advanced stages of decay.

2. Brown Rot --- Brown Rot is said to be less common than White Rot & is usually found more frequently on conifers than hardwood. However, Brown Rot would decay away cellulose & would leave behind modified lignin, thus giving a brown appearance in the rotted wood. Brown Rot would bring about a significant strength loss even in the initial stage of attack & the wood would become brittle which may fracture easily under tension.

3. Soft Rot --- Soft Rot is primarily caused by AM fungi & the wood attacked would lose significant strength similar to Brown Rot. The Soft Rot & Brown Rot can sometimes be difficult to distinguish by visual means. Microscopic investigation may be necessary to carry out the taxonomy.

Decay in living trees is usually named after the position of occurrence, e.g. root rot, butt rot, sap rot, heart rot, trunk rot, etc. Healthy trees can carry out compartmentalization once the entry of WDF is detected. However, if the tree is in poor health or under stress, the WDF will advance with repeated attacks on the boundaries, sometimes with the help of other pathogens, to spread radially & longitudinally until the cambium is killed. Then the WDF will carry on their living cycles on the dead wood & seek opportunities to attack other living wood. Removal of dead wood alone does not seem to minimize infection, since the spores of the WDF are usually air-borne. Proper cultural practice appears to be more effective in controlling WDF in reality.

Among the hundreds of WDF active in our environment, the 3 most significant culprits in damaging living trees appear to be:

1. Armillaria spp --- Commonly known as Shoe-String root rot or Honey Mushroom. This group of WDF is actually edible, if you can clearly identify them (Warning: Most mushrooms are toxic especially the colourful ones. Do NOT just eat without proper identification.). Armillaria ranks among no. 1 as common in decaying root & lower part of a tree. It attacks & degrades the root system, weakening the infected tree to fall in wind. The fungal threads of Armillaria are said to be bio-luminescent. They tend to glow in darkness, giving them a name of ' foxfire' in wilderness.

2. Ganoderma lucidum --- This is the Wooden Ear that is sold in Chinese medicine shop. This WDF is easy to identify by its varnished mahogany appearance in its annual fruiting body. Nevertheless, this is the no. 2 in common to infect living trees. It occurs near the base of the tree & attack roots. It can kill cambium of roots & decline a tree to create potential failure. However, some experts reckoned the presence of the fruiting bodies alone would not usually be the only reason to suggest removal & other symptoms such as cracks, leaning, etc. would need to accompany the fungal attack. Different experts say different things all the time & the Arborist would need to rely on his/her own experience to judge the situation.

3. Ganoderma applanatum --- This WDF is also known as the Artist's Conk due to its saucer like fruiting body on base of trunk of living trees. It can also be found on dead trees & stumps as Saprophyte. This fungus is no. 3 in common as a WDF for urban trees & its presence would justify immediate removal as a sign of advanced decay. Ganoderma applanatum is a perennial fungus which can live up to 5 years or more, different from the above two WDF which are annual.

Basic understanding of WDF is essential for Tree Inspection, Risk Assessment & especially Tree Failure Analysis. WDF exist in our environment as part of ecology & we can not get rid of them unless we live in a desert. It may also be unwise to eradicate WDF or we shall have fewer agents to clean up our fallen organic matters. It may be really to promote the health & defense of a living tree to withstand WDF as wiser, rather than to constantly spray chemicals to rid them when detected. The emergence of WDF in a living tree is usually secondary to the primary cause of abiotic stresses which are likely to be caused by human intervention most of the time.

WDF should be studied together with Dr. Shigo's Tree Biology for a complete picture of Tree Pathology. Tree Pathology is necessary for Diagnosis & Treatment in writing up certain Arborist Report. Once again, it can be seen that building Arborist knowledge is like knitting a net. The different parts link together & missing knowledge would be like making a broken net ...

This Station works hard to develop Arborist knowledge for our Station Members in our territory all the time. This Station also appears to be the only entity in our territory providing such knowledge locally. Knowledge is what we need if we want to improve our Tree Care practice. This Station has to work hard.

More useful research will appear later when this Station has run over them one by one ...

best regards,

Sammy Au
Station Manager

The ISA Mission - Through research, technology, and education, promote the professional practice of arboriculture and foster a greater public awareness of the benefits of trees. (http://www.isa-arbor.com/)

ISA HK/China --- China Tree News (Expensive Flowering Trees & How to produce trees with Girdling Roots)

*** Our weekly Station Mail is for the information of Station Members only, but Station Mail has given up copyright & can be freely circulated. For administrative reasons, comments from outsiders are usually not entertained & may be circulated within our system locally & overseas. Please note Station Mail is sometimes given in Blog at http://isahkchina.blogspot.com , although images are usually not attached due to size. ***

Dear Station Members,

Attached are two recent Tree News from China:

1. Expensive ' Flowering' Mature Trees on high demand

As said before, China is an Old Dragon & the Old Dragon has its own standard of beauty.

It was said that the topped Lagerstroemia of approx 200 mm trunk diameter & 3.5 m tall grown in an 14 inch pot as shown in the attached picture, could fetch between 10,000 to 100,000 RMB in the China market. It was also reported that these topped trees were in high demand & customers flocked in to check stocks everyday.

What would be the hypothesis behind for the popularity of these apparently damaged trees grown in tiny pots among the China customers, which would be regarded as wastes in Western markets? The only probable explanation might be that they have a few flowers dangling in the canopy. Lagerstroemias are great survivors & can be grown from cuttings. Trees of these sizes after topping could survive, but were likely to develop cankers & cavities everywhere in the tree body. Growing them in tiny pots would also lead to the development of Girdling Roots.

Research has shown that while the canopy develops to an extensive mass above ground & the roots are girdling (circling) below ground, the tree could lose stability in the wind, or the vascular tissues at root collar could be strangled by the Girdling Roots to restrict flow of water & nutrients. When tree falls, it may pose hazard to people & property down below. Words will not prevent a tree from falling.

If these topped trees were planted in city parks or even in a backyard, they may never develop good structure & health. There is no way to stop the decay except by compartmentalization to take over. Yet compartmentalization in Mature Trees is usually very very slow.

So, these 'expensive' trees were sold for a lot of money in China. HK may be smarter than that, do we?

2. How to produce trees with Girdling Roots

Our brothers & sisters up north have apparently adopted this ' Double Containers' production system from pot plant production (maybe also Plug technology in Greenhouse) in the West. They would probably think that producing trees & disposable pot plants in horticulture would belong to the same category.

In the tree production so shown, Girdling roots are likely to develop in just a few months after containerization. When roots have reached the side of the container, they have nowhere to go but to circle around the container wall to become ' root bound ' to form Girdling Roots. Research has shown that once Girdling Roots have developed, they will have a tendency to stay that way even when severed in future. There seems to be no satisfactory method to completely eliminate Girdling Roots so far in tree production, once they have formed.

In pot plant production, shrubs or annuals are produced ' root bound' for maximum root absorption of water & nutrients, & to minimize transplant shock. Shrubs & annuals are smaller plants grown for scent & colour. Their falling hazard is low & their damaging strength is usually insignificant. Has anyone heard a person got killed or a car became crushed by a falling Azalea or Camellia?

However, when it comes to massive structure like trees & palms, the falling hazard is an entirely different story. Trees are something that would develop a big crown even with Girdling Roots. Top heavy trees with a restricted root system can be a great danger in wind. It would be like an office chair with spreading legs of just a few inches long. Would this chair remain standing if sat upon ? Then why should we use trees with Girdling Roots?

It is apparent that trees with Girdling Roots should not be used in landscape, because they can kill or damage when they grow big. Liability in using trees with Girdling Roots can easily be proved in Court since the exposed root system would give the evidence. The tree owner or relevant parties may be held liable for Negligence.

Horticulture & Arboriculture may belong to the same category for our brothers & sisters up north. Let's wish them good luck to their people, their properties & their trees.

Next time in a storm in China, would anyone like to stand under those trees with Girdling Roots, even if you have nowhere else to stand ....??

best regards,

Sammy Au
Station Manager

ISA HK/China --- Review of Dr. Shigo's Tree Biology series

*** Our weekly Station Mail is for the information of Station Members only, but Station Mail has given up copyright & can be freely circulated. For administrative reasons, comments from outsiders are usually not entertained & may be circulated within our system locally & overseas. Please note Station Mail is sometimes given in Blog at http://isahkchina.blogspot.com , although images are usually not attached due to size. ***

Dear Station Members,

Arboriculture is an advancing profession & becoming a Certified Arborist (CA) is only the beginning of serious learning. Countless knowledge of arboriculture is confronting CA & modern Tree Biology is one very important subject for any CA to master. CA without good knowledge of Tree Biology is like a doctor not knowing well the human body. Can this CA go very far?

When it comes to modern Tree Biology, any CA would give respect to the name of Dr. Alex Shigo. It seems to be this giant who woke up the world on looking at trees with a totally new concept & Dr. Shigo practically has revolutionized Tree Pathology upon his research. His influence on arboriculture is profound & inviting. Without his research, maybe many Arborists would still carry on the old way of Flush Pruning, Wound Dressing & Topping the trees.

Dr. Alex Shigo, respected by many Arborists as the 'Founder of Modern Arboriculture', has published hundreds of research paper & several books on Tree Biology, Tree Pathology & Tree Anatomy. Most of them are not available in our part of the world for unknown reason. In order to discover his knowledge, this Station has spent some months to study through his published education as follows:

1. A New Tree Biology with Dictionary --- 636 pages for the book + 144 pages for the dictionary

2. Tree Pruning --- 192 pages

3. Modern Arboriculture --- 440 pages

4. Tree Anatomy --- 104 pages

5. Dr. Shigo's website (http://home.ccil.org/~treeman/shigo/index.html) & research papers

It is impossible to give a detailed account of the information contained above in a simple Station Mail. Our Station Members are encouraged to purchase Dr. Shigo's books & to browse through his website to understand the very useful information contained within.

The Station Manager has studied for years on Horticulture & Landscape Design to facilitate his work in nursery production & landscaping. But when he came to study Dr. Shigo's series, they turned out to be another world of knowledge that he had never seen or heard before. Dr. Shigo's Tree Biology is a unique vision of its own & appears to be rather different to conventional teaching. In fact, some of his research would be regarded as a challenge to conventional wisdom in the biology domains.

Dr. Shigo was the Chief Scientist of the US Forest Service from 1959 to 1985 to study the Discolorization & Decay in Forest Trees. In his work, he had found repeated patterns of tree responses deviated from conventional knowledge of wounding & pathogen development. He discovered that trees belong to a Generating System & are great Compartmentalizers to fight decay. He had carried out many research to prove his thinking.

Dr. Shigo challenged the wisdom of conventional Tree Biology in studying under microscope for dead cross sections of tree parts instead of longitudinal dissections of living trees which would give accounts on boundaries of defence & compartmentalization in fighting pathogen invasion. Dr. Shigo has taken the pain to dissect over 15,000 trees with chainsaws to study living & dead trees for his analysis. It may appear to be difficult to repeat Dr. Shigo's work today by dissecting so many trees anywhere in the world. We seem to be running out of trees nowadays.

Dr. Shigo looked at a tree as part of an ecological system & would incorporate tree with the organisms living on or around it together with the environment interacting with it. Whereas conventional Tree Biology would tend to focus on tree parts & the physiological functions of each part, Dr. Shigo would combine all the living parts into a system & call it Symplast. He studied the energy transfer of Symplast in performing its daily functions such as growth, maintenance, storage & defense, & viewed the tree as an energy pump where energy reserves are moved & converted in accordance with the requirement of the tree to respond to the outside environment. He had looked at tree from an angle where hardly anybody had done the same before.

Most CA in HK would probably know Dr. Shigo through the theory of Compartmentalization of Decay in Trees (CODIT) which is a tested subject in the exam. CODIT has become perhaps a distinction between the study of arboriculture with horticulture in major when it comes to Tree Biology. However, CODIT is really a simplified model & Dr. Shigo's literature would go into details of Reaction Zone & Barrier Zone in microscopic anatomy. Chemistry would come into play & anti-microbial compounds at cell level would be discussed. The knowledge would go far beyond the CA exam requirement.

Another point in Dr. Shigo's research suggested that CODIT are strongly affected by genetics. He tested Flush Cuts (forbidden by ISA education mostly) on trees of strong CODIT & found decay development well contained in some trees. On trees of same species & same size in the same lot, other trees would perform poorly, suggesting that trees are like animals with grading & fitness. The higher grade would be the winner of survival & the lower grade would perish by natural selection. His comment on our current forestry practice of harvesting only higher grade timer would leave behind community of poor grade to survive, which may lead to the downgrading of performance of our forest in future. By this theory, Dr. Shigo criticized our current nursery practice of ensuring high percentage success in seed germination & seedling production, to bring trees of poor genetic into our urban environment which would lead to maintenance aggravation.

In reviewing Dr. Shigo's literature, this Station has found Dr. Shigo's education is not easy to read or understand at all. For us here in HK who are used to British education, Dr. Shigo' writing in colloquial North American world be almost uphill battle in every page. For those whose English is not international enough may find it almost impossible to apprehend Dr. Shigo's literature. Also, Dr. Shigo's education is really meant for the understanding of researchers & practitioners. Anyone without sound background in Biology may find it hard to even proceed. Our AFCD Station Members are recommended to study Dr. Shigo's series because they may be relevant to their work especially in Tree Pathology, although the information can also be applied to Urban Trees which tend to be planted as individuals rather than in groups in a much more hostile environment.

If Dr. Shigo's work is so difficult to understand, some may ask then why bother ?

It is because Dr. Shigo's research is required for Arborist service such as Tree Selection, Tree Installation, Tree Inspection, Risk Assessment, Pruning, Diagnosis & Treatment, Tree Protection during Construction, Cabling & Bracing, & writing up Legal Consultation. In the important field of Tree Assessment, Arborists would need to understand how cracks are formed, how decay would advance, whether mushrooms would topple a tree immediately or later, how rapid is wound closure, how cavities may affect wind stability, how topping could be corrected, how to inspect Cabling & Bracing wound, etc.& etc. Many information in the series can be used for writing up Arborist Report & used as Court reference in Legal Consultation. Arborists need to be fact-finding & truth-telling, & we can not comment with our personal opinion without facts & research. Dr. Shigo's work would provide this support.

Dr. Shigo emphasized on ' Trees must be touched to be understood.' For those who do not touch trees & try to understand his work, it would be as tasty as chewing leather shoes. Dr. Shigo also said ' Education starts when you doubt something. Education occurs when you resolve your doubts.' When the CODIT model was brought up in 1985, there was skepticism all around the world. Conventional biologists felt challenged & would not accept Dr. Shigo's finding. Many biologists in Asia today still have not come to acknowledge Dr. Shigo's research & carry on the old thinking. Treating trees to a lot of scholars are still to be like treating humans or animals. Trees do not appear to be well understood by our public from viewing comments in the media. We have a long way to go indeed.

This Station would recommend the able & serious to try to study through the research of Dr. Shigo to improve themselves. Some of his books can be obtained on ISA website while some of his research can be downloaded from the internet.

The Station Manager would be pleased to offer any help, no matter how limited or ignorant, on any problem that anybody might encounter on understanding Dr. Shigo's education series. Please do enquire when needed.

best regards,

Sammy Au
Station Manager

The ISA Mission - Through research, technology, and education, promote the professional practice of arboriculture and foster a greater public awareness of the benefits of trees. (www.isa-arbor.com)

ISA HK/China --- HK Tree News (Greening Open Drainage Channels)

*** Our weekly Station Mail is for the information of Station Members only, but Station Mail has given up copyright & can be freely circulated. For administrative reasons, comments from outsiders are usually not entertained & may be circulated within our system locally & overseas. Please note Station Mail is sometimes given in Blog at http://isahkchina.blogspot.com , although images are usually not attached due to size. ***

Dear Station Members,

Below is a recent set of news regarding greening Open Drainage Channels (ODC) in the old sectors of our city to rid foul smell & provide landscape area for improving the quality of life of nearby residents:

http://hk.news.yahoo.com/071013/60/2hibf.html

In contemplating about the whole idea, this Station has reservation on just covering the ODC with concrete deck & then try to 'green' the deck, because:

1. There may be more hard surface created which will absorb heat from the sun, than before the construction.

2. If there is going to be extra soft work on deck to cover the created hard surfaces, the soil weight will require a thicker deck at higher cost, & the soft work will lead to heavy maintenance especially from vandalism in the older part of our city. Tree planting would generally require around 0.6 - 1m thick of soil for healthy growth & wind stability for the future mature trees. If planting only dwarf trees, shrubs & groundcovers, the landscape may appear insignificant & immature to show the world, & to justify all the expenses incurred.

3. The temperature of the deck will be the same as ambient temperature. The roots of all plants will be hot in summer & cold in winter. The Buffer Zone of ground temperature can not be provided for anything growing on a concrete deck. This applies to roof planting as well.

Above are just some major points of concern in the greening matter, besides the consideration for storm water collection & sediment removal inside the covered channel.

A possible solution to derive the objective of eradicating smell with landscape provision under low cost, might be the installation of Flood Gate at the estuary of the ODC to convert the ODC into a flowing river implemented with ornamental fishes. At times of low flow, Flood Gate can be raised to increase water level. The slow flowing water can be stirred by circulation pumps & oxygen pumps for sustaining water life so that smell can be reduced to minimum. This is how fish farm is operated in many parts of the world. Water plants can also be installed to add colours & to sustain water creatures. A balanced ecological system will be created in place. Landscape can then be installed on both sides of the converted ODC, with trees, to form a natural setting. In times of storm, Flood Gate can be opened to direct water exit, although some fishes may be lost...

The Station Manager has seen this idea in action in Osaka years ago & illegal angling was happening along the converted channel because it was so attractive. The same idea is also being used everywhere in Holland for navigation & irrigation, although it is to keep water out from the ocean, instead of getting it out from land.

Flood Gate is an option besides decking the ODC which is expensive, time consuming & rather disturbing to the public during construction. Besides, decking may not be as environmentally friendly & may become another Heat Island if not carefully designed with landscape. On the other hand, using Flood Gate would depend upon other factors including pollution control into ODC & also flow rate. Stagnant polluted water will be hard to purify by biological means. Further studies by more parties will be needed to justify its use. Once which system is decided, the landscape can compliment it as it should.

We wonder which system will be chosen at the end & based on what ground ... ?

best regards,

Sammy Au
Station Manager

The ISA Mission - Through research, technology, and education, promote the professional practice of arboriculture and foster a greater public awareness of the benefits of trees. (www.isa-arbor.com)

ISA HK/China --- Review of LAO PN 7/2007 Tree Preservation in Private Develpment

*** Our weekly Station Mail is for the information of Station Members only, but Station Mail has given up copyright & can be freely circulated. For administrative reasons, comments from outsiders are usually not entertained & may be circulated within our system locally & overseas. Please note Station Mail is sometimes given in Blog at http://isahkchina.blogspot.com , although images are usually not attached due to size. ***

Dear Station Members,

This Station has recently received a copy of the latest Lands Administration Office (LAO) Practice Note (PN) no. 7/2007 on the latest policy in Tree Preservation in Private Projects, & has taken a quick review of its contents for the interest of our Station Members.

This Station has found the PN 7/2007 is perhaps the best & most updated among all PN's so far issued with regard to Tree Preservation for Private Projects in our territory. It is written in administrative English meant for the understanding of professionals. Lesser laymen may find it hard to fully appreciate the contents & the intention. This PN can be downloaded at http://sc.info.gov.hk/gb/www.landsd.gov.hk/en/legco/lpn.htm but patience may be required to await speed which may appear rather slow at times.

Measures are taken very seriously & clearly in this latest PN for Tree Preservation not previously adopted for Private Projects. This PN has laid out procedures & methods to go about the planning & execution with regard to tree affairs on private development down to efficiency not detected in previous PN before. This PN appears to be written with deep consultation with Arboricultural Professionals in its many international practice recommended, which has made this PN an advancement in saving our precious trees in private development indeed.

There are major points deserving the attention of our Station Members in this PN:

a. Self-Certification of Compliance (SCC) --- Instead of requiring an official inspection by Lands Dept (LandsD) for the Certificate of Compliance (CC) on the Compensatory Planting upon the completion of the private project, this PN gives suggestion that the lot owner can now appoint a Registered Landscape Architect (RLA) to submit a SCC to certify that the Tree Works have been implemented in accordance with the approved application. On the other hand, LandsD reserves the right to randomly inspect the SCC & may challenge the opposite if found. This will save valuable time & administration for both the lot owner & the Govt, but place a heavier liability on the RLA for the inspection.

b. Competent Person (CP) Status --- In para 15 of the PN & in para 2b of the Appendix II, the position of a Competent Person is brought in to be recognized alongside the RLA for works such as Tree Survey, Tree Works Supervision & Tree Assessment. The definition of CP is that of any person who possesses a professional or vocational qualification in horticulture, arboriculture &/or tree care, & he/she also has minimum 1 year of closely related post-qualification local experience. This Station interprets that any experienced Certified Arborist (CA) with good knowledge & social standing will be qualified to enter this rank of CP to carry out the required work, although the final decision rests upon the Govt. CA appears to indirectly obtain an official status in our Govt system this time.

c. Requirement of Proper Arboricultural Practice --- In Appendix II 'Guidance Notes on Preparing Submission to LandsD' for Tree Survey Plans, Tree assessment & Other Advisory Notes for Good Practice in Tree Care, etc., international arbor practice is quoted for recommendation to determine Tree Retention, Tree Transplantation, Tree Planting & Pruning. Furthermore, Transit Nursery is no longer required, Topping is prohibited, & Pruning Guidelines are given to imitate international practice. This is an excellent improvement indeed ! Yes, this PN is going to adopt international practice & ISA begins with an 'I'. If experienced CA's are not qualified to work to such requirements, please kindly tell us who then...

This good PN has indirectly brought in the service of Arborists for design & supervision in Tree Survey, Tree Assessment, Tree Transplantation & Tree Pruning, which are all specialist training of experienced CA. We very much feel the status of CA in HK is gradually receiving recognition by our Govt & public day by day. This rapid development in our local arboriculture is unprecedented in the landscape history in HK & this Station is truly grateful for the wisdom of our Govt. On the other hand, this Station will continue to supervise our Arborists to serve well our community as a duty, & to upgrade the quality of living of our loving city with better trees.

In order not to have our younger CA's getting it over their heads with the current good news, this Station wishes to emphasize that the CA credential is really regarded internationally as a threshold to push open the gate of Professional Arboriculture. The road ahead is long & winding, & the CA must not stop at just collecting the credential. Many practical skills in Pruning, Tree Climbing, Tree Inspection, Risk Assessment, Diagnosis & Treatment, Legal Consultation & many others, are not tested in the CA credential at present. Upon the application of skills on site for any arbor service, all knowledge will be required & CA is liable to a higher Duty of Care in Court. Getting the CA is really a start & not an end. CA must be forever learning & this Station will try its best to provide.

For our younger CA's, it is also important to note that CA & CTW in ISA HK/China Station are required to comply with the principles of Integrity, Professionalism & Participation with an attitude of fact-finding & truth-telling. By maintaining these values, the CA profession will be respected in our community for a long time.

In the realistic situation in HK for landscape project submission, it may be true that the RLA firms would be stronger in documentation & drawing (including AutoCAD) provision, whereas the practising CA's tend more to be more working individuals well versed in site work. The two professions should really come to support each other in both paper & practical work to match the requirements of this latest PN for the benefit of the clients. Both should be winners & competition should not exist. This has been proven in the work of the Station Manager in past for Govt & Private Projects alongside with major landscape consultancy firms for difficult tree matters. With an open attitude of cooperation & mutual objective, no obstacle is too strong to overcome.

This Station will urge our Station Members to positively study the contents of this very useful PN if you are working in the relevant field. You may also wish to contact the Govt Depts for further explanation with regard to any enquiry in the contents of this PN.

best regards,

Sammy Au
Station Manager

The ISA Mission - Through research, technology, and education, promote the professional practice of arboriculture and foster a greater public awareness of the benefits of trees. (www.isa-arbor.com)

ISA HK/China --- Oct 7 Concurrent Training Sessions at ETF

Dear Station Members,

This Station wishes to thank the participants of the Oct 7 Trip to ETF for making the gathering such a hugh success. Despite the heat of 35C in the shade, everybody was finding it enjoyable & very educational indeed. Some have seen how nursery trees grown to international standard for the first time, & the tutorship on Plant ID & Pruning was excellent. The strong sunshine added enthusiasm to the learning & everyone has found the sessions well worthwhile for the journey so made.

We particularly wish to thank the Tutors Mr. KM Li & Mr. Tong Ng for their excellent Plant ID & Natural Target Pruning training. Mr. Li & Mr. Ng also refused to waive their share of payment of the trip & insisted to pay the RMB 180 person for transport, meal & drink like everybody. Such kind of selfless devotion will set an example in our Station history for bringing in fresh air to the landscape industry & gentlemen of this quality ought to deserve a round of applause form all of us. Thank you, our respectful Tutors...

Please kindly find attached the bunch of photos taken by this Station & sent in by Station Members for the footprints of the Oct 7 Trip. Please keep the one you want & share them with friends & family for the memorable occasion.

Upon the success of the Oct 7 trip, this Station is planning for other educational sessions at ETF such as Chainsaw Uses, Crown Restoration Pruning after Topping, Structural Pruning for Landscaping Trees after DLP, Tree Biology & Pathology, Tree Anatomy, Intermediate Tree Climbing, Basic Rigging, Tree Risk Identification, Fundamental Tree Inspection, Diagnosis & Treatment, etc. Now with help of volunteer Tutors, the above training have become possible instead of having just the Station Manger to do it all alone in the past. Our thanks to our wonderful Tutors indeed.

If any Station Member would like to offer any Arbor Training of above or beyond, you are most welcomed to contact this Station for arrangement anytime. We shall review & gather them into concurrent sessions to be run in HK or ETF as appropriate.

In view of the popular demand for Professional & Recreational Tree Climbing among our Station Members & public, this Station is planning to open up a Climber's Corner (CC) for anybody interested to join, hopefully within a month's time. The CC will communicate mainly in Chinese to facilitate understanding by our Chinese Channel Station Members who tend to be mostly Tree Climbers. There will be a separate class of Station Membership for CC & by tradition, Station Membership in CC is never to be disclosed publicly & will be kept alone by the Station Manager for privacy. However, the contributors for the CC will likely be experienced Tree Climbers & anybody is welcomed to contribute. The Station Manager's job is to distribute the CC Station Mail & may not have time to write on it. The CC Station Mail will be placed on Station Blog together with the usual English Station Mail for anybody's viewing.

Now for something to be celebrated. It is the pleasure of this Station to announce that our Station Membership has already reached over the 410 no. mark by Oct 1, 2007. We are also growing strong with weekly application to join this Station from all sectors of our society. The ratio of 70% Degree Holders & 60% Master Degree is still maintaining & we have more landscape architects in our Station than any other greenery institute in HK at present. We should also be by now the biggest & the most inclusive greenery organization in HK if we count in the complimentary Station Membership besides the official Station Membership of over 410 no. We have indeed proven yet another HK Miracle with no funding, no proper structure & no venue. All we have are knowledge, principles & enthusiasm, with ISA backing us behind all the way.

This Station wishes to thank all of you very much for your continuous support to develop proper arboriculture in our territory. ISA HK/China Station looks forward to grow successfully with our society to provide a better quality of living, with dedication, professionalism & integrity, one tree at a time.

best regards,

Sammy Au
Station Manager

ISA's Mission - Through research, technology, and education, promote the professional practice of arboriculture and foster a greater public awareness of the benefits of trees. (http://www.isa-arbor.com/)

ISA HK/China --- HK Tree news (Tree failure to nearly kill & tree labels)

*** Our weekly Station Mail is for the information of Station Members only, but Station Mail has given up copyright & can be freely circulated. For administrative reasons, comments from outsiders are usually not entertained & may be circulated within our system locally & overseas. Please note Station Mail is sometimes given in Blog at http://isahkchina.blogspot.com/ , although images are usually not attached due to size. ***

Dear Station Members,

Attached are two sets of recent Tree News in HK drawing our attention:

1. Tree Failure to nearly kill

According to the media report, an Aleurites moluccana of approx. 12m x 0.4m dia. was waving & suddenly fell to hit a passing taxi, crushing the front part of the car & poking through the front seat with failed branches. Luckily no one was sitting in the front passenger seat. The taxi driver & the lady passenger at the back both escaped a narrow kill. Should the angle of fall deviated by a little to the side or back, either the driver or the passenger would be hit right in the head, potentially causing serious injury or even death ...

It was reported that the failed tree had mushroom growth on the root collar & the failure appeared to be a structural defect with wind loading.

An interesting point to note in this incident is that the failed tree appeared to be in good health with sound foliage from the photo shown. A lot of our local Tree Inspectors, be they landscapers or others, would usually determine the health & condition of a tree just by looking at the foliage. It does not seem to be common to hear anyone commenting on branch attachment, lattice geometry, wind loading & pest problems with potential to fail. It would be regarded that any tree with good foliage, the tree would be healthy & safe. By Arborist standards, having good foliage alone does not mean the tree is safe in wind. In fact, it is usually quite the opposite because the bigger the crown, the higher is the liability for wind loading on that tree.

The crown of a tree is similar to the sail of a boat. If the crown is full but the branch attachments are weak, it would be like a sailing rig with weak connections. In wind, weaker connections would fail. However, our conventional practice appears to be that a Tree Inspector would only look at a tree for foliage density & colour. Structure & Wind Loading would not be emphasized or may even be missed out. Trees are massive structures with a potential to kill if failed, & trees are not pot plants or tomatoes. We can not judge the safety of a tree by horticultural standards alone. It is sad that Tree Failures in our urban settings are usually named an Act of God. Inadequate Risk Management would be rarely mentioned.

This unfortunate incident is likely to initiate insurance claim & may even bring Law suit from the victim's side. After all, they have had a traumatic experience never to be expected. If Arborist is involved in acting as an Expert Witness for any side in Court, quite likely the incident would be proven not an Act of God. Records & documentation would be investigated & the liabilities would be ascertained by the lawyers. Arborist would only provide technical support.

Would anyone be interested to take up the case?

2. Tree Labels in Tai Po

Someone wrote to the media complaining Tree Labels were incorrectly tagged for some public trees in Tai Po. The relevant Govt Dept have instructed the contractor responsible to rectify the placement & this Station does not see any major threat in messing up a few tree tags by accident indeed. HK has a culture of complaint & insignificant incident as such would be blown to distortion at times.

However, what is raising the attention of this Station for this event is really the design of the tree tags. They appeared to be sheets of printer paper inserted inside transparent plastic bags with the opening on top to collect rain or irrigation water. If water would get inside the bag, the paper is likely to dissolve & mosquito breeding is likely to happen.

Would it not be better if laminated label is to be used instead ? Laminated labels are equally cheap & available, & can be replaced with ease just as good as the existing one.

Just a casual thought ...

best regards,

Sammy Au
Station Manager

ISA HK/China --- Pruning Guidelines of ETWB Feb 07

*** Our weekly Station Mail is for the information of Station Members only, but Station Mail has given up copyright & can be freely circulated. For administrative reasons, comments from outsiders are usually not entertained & may be circulated within our system locally & overseas. Please note Station Mail is sometimes given in Blog at http://isahkchina.blogspot.com , although images are usually not attached due to size. ***

Dear Station Members,

This Station received a useful Pruning Guidelines so printed under with 'ETWB Feb 2007' in the attachment from a Station Member (not a Civil Servant !). This Station has reviewed the contents & found nothing of a confidential nature harmful to anybody, & would anticipate this kind of information may be included into the landscape specifications later for Govt contracts.

The contents of the Guidelines are similar to the knowledge of ISA education on pruning, except they are much simplified for some reasons. In fact, if a Certified Arborist (CA) would look closely at the Guidelines, he/she may find some of the information is taking a similar approach with the book "An Illustrated Guide to Pruning, 2nd edition --- E Gilman" which tends to be a standard text of CA to study day-to-day pruning work. However, the Guidelines have also remained traditional terminologies like Formative Pruning, Crown Lifting, Cleaning, etc. & missed out on Crown Restoration & Mature Tree Pruning which are both vital & relevant to our Topping problem & OVT maintenance in our city.

Another issue that this Pruning Guidelines did not mention specifically is the pruning techniques for Decurrent (without a Central Leader) Trees which have been commonly grown for flowering in the past in HK. A lot of these Decurrent Trees have by now reached maturity & many of them can not be pruned in the same manner as Excurrent (with a Central Leader) Trees. Examples of Decurrent Trees would include the common Ficuses, Bauhinias, Delonix & Lagerstroemias which are common in our city. The species of Delonix regia (Flame tree) would grow fast & tall, & would usually fail without much warning.

To a lot of experienced CA & Tree Farmers, pruning is a vast & complex subject to master. Some say it would take a year to learn proper pruning & a lifetime to perfect. The Station Manager himself goes to ETF every weekend to care for his 20,000 trees & the majority of the time would be spent on Structural Pruning. In nursery production, borer attack is a common pest problem which would kill off the Central Leader of a tree like Topping. Crown Restoration is necessary to re-build the Central Leader or the tree can not be sold.

In a lot of Tree Inspection & Risk Assessment, the recommendation in the Arborist Report would include mitigation measure like Corrective Pruning. This kind of recommendation must be given very carefully because once cut at the wrong places, the tree may suffer by offsetting wind balance or nutrition uptake ability, & the cut parts can not be re-attached by any means.

This Station rarely gives instruction on the subject of Pruning in Station Mail, because we worry that someone may read the information & decide he/she would know it all. Pruning is a 3-dimensional practice & every tree has a different geometry. What is shown on books is usually 2-dimensional only & branch structure is usually not given in details. The Station Manager has always found before pruning is to be discussed, subjects like Tree Biology, Biomechanics & Nursery Standards should first be consulted to understand where to cut & how much to cut. The Arborist should first ask him/herself some questions before carrying out any pruning: Why should I prune, where & & how much to prune. There are times for safety reason or others, healthy tissues may be cut off seemingly absurd to laymen, e.g. Directional Pruning in High Voltage Transmission Lines. Those cuts are particularly hard to accept.

Tree Pruning can not ignore the use of Chainsaws. Chainsaw use involves primarily safety, cutting technique & maintenance. Knowledge in arboriculture is usually knitted together like a net. Any part missing will be like a broken net.

The Oct 7 Trip to ETF will be a good time to learn proper pruning on real trees by experienced tutors. There are still about 10 vacancies available at present & may be going fast once this Station Mail is out. If anyone wants to learn pruning on a real 3-D tree, why not come along to see it in action with tuition, rather than pondering it in theory from a 2-D book or computer?

Oct 7 invites you.

best regards,

Sammy Au
Station Manager

ISA HK/China --- HK Tree News (Moving 850 trees for a Bicycle Track in Yuen Long)

*** Our weekly Station Mail is for the information of Station Members only, but Station Mail has given up copyright & can be freely circulated. For administrative reasons, comments from outsiders are usually not entertained & may be circulated within our system locally & overseas. Please note Station Mail is sometimes given in Blog at http://isahkchina.blogspot.com , although images are usually not attached due to size. ***

Dear Station Members,

Attached is a recent set of local news describing some tree disturbance in the Yuen Long area for the proposal to build a Bicycle Track. Some 850 no. of trees would need to be removed or transplanted owing to the construction. Some District Board members were raising concern with removing trees & would opt for transplantation. The general sentiment may be that by transplanting the affected trees, they would be saved from destruction.

Form an Arborist's point of view, trying to save trees not worth saving would cost time, money & efforts for a political exercise which may run into potential tree failures at the end. If those trees were growing in poor structure & health, or if those trees can not be transplanted with proper management (rootball, transport & future growing space), the transplanted trees would become more of a liability rather than an asset after all the time & effort spent. Have we not seen this happening many times in the past all over HK ? Do we call those topped trees after transplantation a proper 'Tree Preservation' ?

In an assessment of this kind, Arborists should be involved, be them from the Govt Dept or private consultancy. The landscape consultant could carry out the initial tree survey with their better facilities in documentation & CAD, but the Arborist should review in details of those trees recommended for retention, transplantation & removal with their better knowledge in Tree Care. The Arborist should study & recommend which trees to keep, move or fell with their professional judgment with justification to be reflected in an Arborist Report.

Certified Arborist (CA) in ISA HK/China will need to abide the Code of Honour of Integrity, Professionalism & Participation with an attitude of fact-finding & truth-telling in their work. Any breach of these in any way may lead to serious discipline by ISA HK/China, besides the CA involved may find him/herself liable to civil action in Court. Arborist Report is no flirting indeed.

At the District Board level, the Arborist can represent the Govt to explain the required tree movement to the politicians with facts & professional knowledge. Arborist has to speak out with facts & truth, not point of view. Aesthetic or species is usually a secondary consideration when safety is an issue. After all, what's good is it to have a 'good looking' tree, if it would fail to hit someone at the end? If the politicians do not like what is being told, then it will be ' Mother Nature makes the rules, not anybody ' to them. Arborist can not compromise facts & truth with politics. The politicians will have to bear the legal & moral responsibilities of tree failures in future if they do not listen, nobody else.

So, that's how a good Arborist would tackle a job like this. In HK today, we do not have an Arboricultural Office in our Govt like in western countries to handle all our tree affairs. It appears to be the administrators talking to the politicians on tree affairs most of the time. Would they do the same in a medical situation ?

HK may change for the better in handling our tree affairs eventually ...

best regards,

Sammy Au
Station Manager

ISA HK/China --- China Tree News (Saving Dying Trees in Beijing & IPM China 2007)

*** Our weekly Station Mail is for the information of Station Members only, but Station Mail has given up copyright & can be freely circulated. For administrative reasons, comments from outsiders are usually not entertained & may be circulated within our system locally & overseas. Please note Station Mail is sometimes given in Blog at http://isahkchina.blogspot.com , although images are usually not attached due to size. ***

Dear Station Members,

Attached are two sets of recent Tree News from China :

1. Research to save dying Mature Trees in Beijing

It was reported that following heavy urbanization in Beijing, the health & growth of Mature Trees in the City have been seriously threatened. According to statistic, in the year 2005 alone, around 10, 000 no. of Mature Trees in Beijing have died. In the year 2006, in the famous Tian An Man Square, over 200 no. of Mature Pines also died off.

In view of such deteriorating situation for the Mature Tree planting in Beijing, the Beijing Institute of Landscape has begun their research on the decline of Mature Trees. It is said that their research will focus on environmental science, plant physiology, plant aging biology & plant protection. It is reported that such research will fill the vacuum in the studies of Mature Trees in the capital city of China.

In reality, this will be an excellent opportunity to sell ISA to Beijing in the eyes of this Station. However, this would mean sending someone knowledgeable enough in arboriculture, language, diplomacy & culture to stay in contact with Beijing, preferable up there to drink & party with them whenever on call. Beijing has also a tradition of protectionism & anyone outside Beijing can be considered as a foreigner. We also need to be careful about the true intention behind this message, whether the event was really aiming for fund rising only to save a Dept. In China after 1949, any outside influence would be labelled ' foreign intervention' if not welcomed or desired, & our brothers & sisters would not tell us on the face. Once shut away & black listed, it may require extra effort at senior level in the Govt to break the ice. We just have to play it their way to be invited rather.

China the Old Dragon is certainly not as easy to enter as some may think without better understanding of this land of 1.3 billion, under a socialist Govt running an apparently capitalistic economy.

2. IPM China 2007

Once again, this national event hosted by seniorities in the Chinese Govt appears to be a suitable spot for this Station to participate for promoting ISA & arboriculture over there. This event is held close to HK, just 50 miles away to our west. Language does not appear to be a problem & there are lots of Chinese landscapers attending this gathering. The cost for a 9 sqm booth is only USD 625 for a period of 3 days & logistics are available conveniently for participants.

However, on further enquiring about the event, it does not appear to have a seminar session in this important national gathering !! The participants are there only to sell their products in their own booth for passing customers. No education session or discussion will be available. It will be everyone for himself in the event. This IPM show appears to adopt the traditional China Market Place style of heckling & bargaining, & not really meant for promoting education or research.

The Station Manager has also enquired what if a Tree Climbing Demonstration can be arranged by us? Would IPM China consider to promote it? The answer is a definite 'yes', but we have to bring in our own tree. We also have to remove the tree after the show immediately at our own cost. The place for the demonstration will need to be arranged at an additional cost to us ...

Therefore, at such an important greenery show at national level in China, no education or demonstration session is made available to the participants. We can only sit there to wait for passing customers to enquire about ISA & tree care, & they are likely to ask us for brochures & catalogues for their future pirating. Hardly any of them will understand English & they would be most interested in prices rather than knowledge. To a lot of them, it is money that makes the world go round ...

Would this be the kind of Trade Show that we are prepared to go in at present?

best regards,

Sammy Au
Station Manager

ISA HK/China --- HK Tree News (Green Power survey on Tree Care)

*** Our weekly Station Mail is for the information of Station Members only, but Station Mail has given up copyright & can be freely circulated. For administrative reasons, comments from outsiders are usually not entertained & may be circulated within our system locally & overseas. Please note Station Mail is sometimes given in Blog at http://isahkchina.blogspot.com , although images are usually not attached due to size. ***

Dear Station Members,

An environmental activist group called Green Power recently carried out a survey on the satisfaction level of Tree Care in HK & the report is given in the attachment & in the following link, in Chinese:

http://hk.news.yahoo.com/070915/60/2fpso.html

According to their survey of 200 people, 70% were unhappy about the current condition of Tree Care in HK & some were demanding for Tree Laws to be enacted to protect our trees. A lot of the responders also did not know which Govt Dept is responsible for which trees in various locations.

What is drawing attention to this Station is that the good Mr. YP Tsang, brother of our Chief Executive His Excellency Mr. Donald Tsang, was also quoted as a positive Tree Lover to support our Tree Care. Mr. YP Tsang was quoted in saying that he has fond memories of the Ficus Trees at where he used to live in Hollywood Road when he was young, & these trees have witnessed his childhood. This Station has identified the potential help of Mr. YP Tsang & will bear in mind to approach him when the opportunity has arisen. We need all help we can get to develop Proper Tree Care in HK indeed.

Research has shown that properly installed trees in a community can lower social resentment & pacify mind. Look at those Big Spreading Trees in Hawaii & those Mature Trees in Singapore. Don't they please even the visitors? Communities well planted with trees tend to have lower crime rate & speedier recovery for patients. Men & Trees have always been one system throughout ages & it may be against our hidden nature to disturb trees.

On the other hand, if trees are not selected, planted, maintained, inspected & assessed for risk properly, they are likely to become a liability rather than an asset. Just look at the number of tree failures in our territory every year as a fact. Many events are not Acts of God. Evidence could speak stronger than words.

The number of Arborists now in our territory is on the rise rapidly & consistently. By this moment, HK/China has 41 Certified Arborists (CA) already. We expect the number to double after the Oct exam next month. HK may eventually possess over 1,000 no. of CA with the popularity it is going & the feedback this Station is receiving. Collecting credential fits into the mentality of our society.

On the other hand, passing the CA exam does not mean a person will become instantly proficient in practicing arboriculture by international standard. There are many legal pitfalls in practising arboriculture & lawyers are like sharks hunting blood. Arborists must be fact-finding & truth-telling to sail safely. By earning the CA credential has only pushed open the entrance door into the world of Arboriculture & there are still many doors to open after becoming a CA. The learning will be life-long & any international Arborist will confirm that.

This Station will carry on developing arboriculture in the proper manner & try to bring in as many allies as possible in due course.

best regards,

Sammy Au
Station Manger

Nparks --- Green Thumbs 2007

Dear Station Members & Anybody,

Our good neighbour Singapore is generating heat for their Greenery event called Green Thumbs 2007 & publicity is emerging everywhere to boil participation. Singapore is taking full advantage of their magnificent trees for social event as well as for tourism, as their good trees would deserve every bit of our respect.

Please visit the pages below & the attachment of this e-mail for additional information of the event.

This Station would encourage anyone interested to feel the impact of Modern Arboriculture to visit Green Thumb 2007 in Singapore. If anyone going, would you be kind enough to send us a report for Station Mail upon return, so that we can also share your joy?

best regards,

Sammy Au
Station Manager


----- Original Message -----
From: Fook Chyi YONG
To: egc@netvigator.com
Cc: Teva RAJ ; Iqbal SANJIMAN
Sent: Monday, September 17, 2007 3:45 PM
Subject: Re: Nparks --- Green Thumbs 2007

Sammy,

Thanks for your support and encouragement in our event. You have indeed be a very good publicity platform for us in HK, China and Taiwan.

We are attaching a series of photos and news articles of the event for your perusal and if you feel suitable, to circulate to your members as well.

We look forward to seeing you in Singapore real soon.

Cheers.

One of the coaches, Scott Sharpe, showing the ropes to a tree climbing championship competitor.

One of our NParks competitors in the tree climbing championship, Jasmine Koh, getting ready for her heats.

Yong Fook Chyi § Assistant Director (Manpower Development)/ Industry Division § National Parks Board

§ Tel: +65 64717065 § Fax: +65 64723303

Privileged/Confidential information may be contained in this message. If you are not the intended recipient, you must not copy, distribute or use it for any purpose, nor disclose its contents to any other person. Please notify the sender immediately if you receive this in error.

§ Check out our website at http://www.nparks.gov.sg/

ISA HK/China --- The Hawaiian Experience (2007 ISA INternational Conference)

*** Our weekly Station Mail is for the information of Station Members only, but Station Mail has given up copyright & can be freely circulated. For administrative reasons, comments from outsiders are usually not entertained & may be circulated within our system locally & overseas. Please note Station Mail is sometimes given in Blog at http://isahkchina.blogspot.com , although images are usually not attached due to size. ***

Dear Station Members,

Aloha ! Hawaiian Greetings.

What a pleasure it was to be in a paradise of sunshine, blue ocean, big surf & friendly people. The world has been left behind for a week for all 9 of us from ISA HK/China attending the 2007 ISA International Conference in Honolulu, & what an experience it was to meet the world ! Our eyes were really opened.

There are far too many events to report in a brief Station Mail about this Conference. We have already organized an Informal Dinner for briefing with more than 60 Station Members attending the presentations. Being there, ISA HK/China has seen how far the world of Arboriculture has advanced & we have never realized that there are so many research institutes & agencies studying Arboriculture around the globe. The lectures presented in the Conference were very educational & useful indeed.

Several events deserve focus in this simplified reporting:

1. Asia Pacific Arboricultural Forum

Countries from around the world including HK/China, Japan, Philippines, Singapore, Australia & New Zealand attended a friendly meeting to share experience in Arbor development in various regions. Everybody shared their views & it was interesting to see so many people paid attention to our development in HK/China. Many useful ideas were raised & taken note by various parties. The success of Japan was particularly interesting to us with regard to their Tree Doctors & Tree Climbing development within such a short period. ISA HK/China has issued a positive message to Japan that we want to make friends with them & the message was well responded.

The Station Manager has also raised the priority in developing ISA in English speaking countries in Asia like Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Burma, Sri Lanka & India to tap the fast growing economy & population there. Traditionally & culturally, Trees are Gods in many parts of Asia. Developing proper tree care will fit into the mentality of these societies who may have never heard of ISA before.

2. ISA Education Seminars

ISA Conferences are all about education & experience sharing. The Hawaiian Conference was no exception. However, the Conference sessions were run concurrently for Utility, Municipal, R& D, Commercial Arboriculture & Tree Climbing. It then became rather a decision making process on choosing which one was best to attend.

Tremendous knowledge was packed in each training session which usually lasted only 30 minutes. Lectures would usually begin at 7 am & early bird would catch the worm. Presenters included internationally famous Prof Kane, Prof Gilman, Dr. Smiley & Nelda Matheny. Topics varied from Structural Tree Cells, Touch step Potential, Tree Failures to Mature Tree Management. It would feel that the world of Arboriculture suddenly fell on us in such weight & impact that we seemed to be converted anew after all the learning.

To be honest, the food & drinks could only be considered basic at the Conference when comparing to what we are used to in HK. However, the knowledge was plentiful & deep. If it is the knowledge & connection that we are looking for in a conference, ISA Conference is definitely the place.

3. International Tree Failures Database (ITFD) Meeting

International experts like Prof Kane, Judy Adams, Dr. Smiley & Sharon Lily were leading the meeting to discuss how ISA could become more involved with ITFD. In future, ISA may provide funding & logistic support to ITFD for training & education programs.

ISA HK/China has raised practical questions like how we can inspect & report our thousands of trees failed after a typhoon & trees in our territory would be cleared as soon as they failed to avoid traffic obstruction. ISA HK/China has also received training materials from ITFD which would be useful for training our own tree assessors in future. The Station Manager raised the question on assessing standards between ISA & USFS & was told that either would be deemed acceptable in most Tree Inspection cases.

A training session for ITFD Tree Assessors may be held at the 2008 Asia Pacific Arbor Conference in Brisbane to invite all interested parties from Asian countries to attend.

4. International Tree Climbing Championship (ITCC)

This was a joyful & vibrant event !

The Station Manager has seen for the first time how International Tree Climbers competed for their best in Throwline, Footlocking, Aerial Rescue & Work Climb with such diversities in equipment & techniques. The boy & girl Tree Climbers from Fung Kai School were also introduced publicly at the opening session of ITCC by the organizers. This was an exceptional honour for ISA HK/China indeed.

The Station Manager has set aside priority on ITCC events because Tree Climbing is something which is hard to self-study alone. Many humble learning of techniques & equipment have been acquired from international experts for bringing back to our territory for exploitation. Seeing was believing most of the time. The Station Manager has noticed that most Tree Climbers are usually quiet, humble & deep thinking. Their only focus is on trees & techniques, which would really make them a breed of their own.

The ITCC has gathered the world's best Tree Climbers to compete for events simulated from everyday work. Trees in Hawaii were also beautiful & wide spreading. The Men's Footlocking competitors were racing at approx. 1 second per meter for a 15 m climb, whereas the Women's were not far behind with less than 18 seconds for 12 m. The Men's Work Climb was full of cheers & feats that could only be felt if you were there. In the Aerial Rescue, different types of techniques form various countries were demonstrated. The ITCC events were full of amazement to we beginner climbers from HK/China & it was such a pleasure to be there.

x x x x x x x

It was a total success for all 9 of us attending the 2007 ISA International Conference in Hawaii. As said before, ISA Conferences are full of good education so designed to upgrade the participants in the latest knowledge. They aim to provide research & education at the cutting edge to advance arboriculture in the best manner. The week we spent there was well worth the long travel & jetlag. All of us have enjoyed the trip very much.

The next major Conference for ISA HK/China would be the Inaugural Asia Pacific Arboricultural Conference in Brisbane from May 9 - 14, 2008. This Conference will focus on specific topics of relevance to the Asia Pacific Region such as tree inspection, tree failures & pest problems. Brisbane is much closer to HK with daily direct flight & with a negligible 2-3 hour jetlag. This Station hopes to bring an even bigger delegation to Brisbane with a climbing team to compete in the regional championship.

Who would like to join?

best regards,

Sammy Au
Station Manager

ISA HK/China --- HK Tree News (CAHK's comments on OVT's)

*** Our weekly Station Mail is for the information of Station Members only, but Station Mail has given up copyright & can be freely circulated. For administrative reasons, comments from outsiders are usually not entertained & may be circulated within our system locally & overseas. Please note Station Mail is sometimes given in Blog at http://isahkchina.blogspot.com , although images are usually not attached due to size. ***

Dear Station Members,

Attached & below are recent Tree News published by the Media on the latest situation of some of our Old & Valuable Trees (OVT) in HK. The contents are self-explanatory & there is no need for this Station to put in additional comments.

Please kindly note Ken So of the Conversation Association of HK (CAHK) is an ISA CA/CTW & also a Proctor in our Station. We have every faith in him speaking out with Integrity, Professionalism & Participation with an attitude of fact-finding & truth-telling on our local tree affairs. Trees are the community centre of all wildlife on land & protecting trees is indeed protecting our environment.

This Station has also noted that CAHK has taken positive interest in our local tree affairs ever since Ken So joining in July. With Ken's experience & expertise, we can be sure that CAHK will be come more involved in commenting our local tree affairs with popular support.

Therefore, Ken, keep up the good work ! Fly our flag & protect our trees. You will have everybody's support if you are doing the right thing, openly or under.

best regards,

Sammy Au
Station Manager

古樹枉稱王 九棵瀕作古誰來救它們？

本港樹王命危矣！本港九棵市區樹王，除九龍公園的細葉榕早前已倒塌外，其餘八棵原來亦百病叢生，不少古樹根部更呈現腐爛，至少三棵有倒塌危險，隨時造成人命傷亡，當中包括位於中區政府合署的紫檀樹，也未獲細心護理。長春社諷刺當局「連樹都管唔掂」，質疑如何管治社會。
長春社保育經理蘇國賢近日巡查九棵曾在九七年獲市民選為樹王的古樹，發現它們長年被不正當修剪，樹幹出現大大小小的傷口，部分甚至長出真菌，不少古樹的根部均被石屎填埋及車輛輾壓，已經嚴重腐爛，難抵風雨，隨時有倒塌危險。

合署名樹恐變朽木樹王慘遭蹂躪，當中又以位於皇龍道的細葉榕情況最危急。蘇國賢表示，該樹生長空間嚴重不足，樹根被迫長出馬路，不少更遭車輛輾至腐爛；九龍塘紫藤路的合歡樹及壽臣山道海洋公園附近的雨豆樹，樹根亦因被石屎覆蓋出現腐爛，未能抓住泥土令樹身傾斜。

中區政府合署入口的紫檀樹不但營養不良，部分樹枝出現腐爛情況後，被人以石屎填補。蘇指出，這種護理樹木方法非常落後，不但令樹枝無法長葉，石屎經歷長時間後，有剝落象，隨時擊中途人，極之危險。長春社公共事務經理李少文諷刺政府：「連自己地方古樹都管唔掂，仲點去管其他呢？」

九棵樹王皆名列政府於○四年設立的古樹名木冊，該冊原意為保育古樹，規定任何工程都不可砍伐名冊上的大樹，但有關制度透明度極低，只公開樹木的資料，但沒有披露其健康情況。據了解，名冊上最初有五百二十七棵古樹，近年中西區一棵血刺桐枯死被除名，當局亦沒有公布。長春社促請政府公開有關古樹保育的資料。康樂及文化事務署表示，已巡查過全港古樹，並為有問題的樹木進行護理，會再了解九棵樹王的情況。

ISA HK/China --- Announcement of Concurrent Training Sessions at ETF

Dear Station Members & Anybody,

It is agreed by any arborist that arboriculture is a living & practising profession. Arborists must ' touch trees', other than books & computers. Our Station has always tried to find opportunity for our Station Members, CA or not, to get their hands into the practical side of arboriculture for complete learning. Here now comes the chance at ETF. ETF will eventually become the training centre for ISA development in Mainland China with its 20,000 trees grown to international requirement, & with a concrete climbing frame plus maturing trees for future Tree Climbing.

Please note there is now a concurrent training session of Basic Tree Climbing (BTC), Pruning Demonstration & Taxonomy/ISA Tree Standards has been arranged for our Station Members & anybody interested as follows:

Date : Sunday Oct 7, 2007

Time : 9.30 am departing Huang Gang Boarder in Shenzhen, & departing ETF at approx. 5pm to reach Huang Gang Boarder again at around 7pm on the same day.

Venue : Eurasian Tree Farm (ETF) in Guangzhou, China

Cost : Free of charge for the training sessions. Transport, meal & other costs will be shared evenly among participants.

Contents of Training :

BTC : This session is designed for beginners without or with very little proper tree climbing experience on a rope & hardness in climbing a tree. Basic body-thrust technique will be given to anyone willing to test himself/herself whether he/she has enough body muscles to climb a tree. Basic safety lanyard tie-in & basic limb walking for a maximum of 3 m will be performed on an artificial tree frame. PPE & climbing equipment will be provided free of charge & shared. However, do bring along your own industrial safety boots for climbing. If raining, use & inspection of PPE, climbing knots & structural pruning will be taught instead.

Pruning Demonstration : Proper tools & cutting techniques will be shown on real trees. Crown Cleaning & Structural Pruning will be demonstrated on Young Trees to achieve health & structure. Safety in using & maintenance of tools will be explained. Selection of tools & location of various cuts will be demonstrated.

Tree ID/ISA Tree Standards : Skills in identifying trees will be given with basic knowledge in Taxonomy to be explained. Keys to Identification for any plant will be explained in ascertaining species. Trees can be identified from growth form, foliage, flower, fruit, bark & ascent. All these parts will be explained in details & examples given on real trees. The ISA Tree Standards of Central Leader, Live Crown Ratio, Strong Branch Attachment, Spiral Staircase Scaffolds, 10 x DBH Rootball diameter, Radial Spread of Roots, no mechanical wounding larger than 5cm, etc. will be explained with ETF trees. Trees already selected for export to Singapore will be shown to candidates for the quality required by international standards.

Tutors:

1. Mr. KM Li --- Mr. Li has over 20 years of Tree Climbing experience at LCSD. Mr. Li has performed tree work on hundreds of tree species in HK in normal or stormy conditions. Mr. Li is well trained with the latest tree climbing techniques & skills.

2. Mr. Tong Ng --- Tony has been trained in the UK for arbor practices & has been awarded the TPNC credential. Tony has involved with chainsaw & pruning training, at LCSD & in the private sector. Tony has over 20 years of experience in local arbor work.

3. Mr. CC Poon --- Mr. Poon is the Supervisor of Kowloon Tree Gang of LCSD. He has over 20 years of experience working in the arbor field & has been trained for Tree ID & Tree Standards in many occasions.

No. of Participants : 40 persons only because of the seats in the hired bus. Please not the booking will be made on a first come first served basis.

Estimated Cost : We expect the cost per person should be around RMB 200.00 for sharing transport, lunch & sundries.

CEU : 3 CEU will be awarded for any CA/CTW attending the full 3 hour session.

Station Activity : This is a Station Activity eligible for entry requirement of CA Family. Anyone is allowed to join this training session, whether Station Member or not, in the name of our Participation into our community.

Who should participate? : Station Members without or with less than 5 rounds of proper tree climbing training with a rope & hardness. Anyone who wants to test himself/herself out to see whether he/she is fit enough to climb. Anyone has learned pruning in theory but has not seen it in practice should come & join. Anyone who has doubts on Tree ID & anyone has not seen the quality of ISA Trees in action should come & find out why they are superior to ordinary China trees. Since all sessions are run concurrently, anyone can attend one session (BTC?) for 30 minutes & then join another training group afterwards. Mixing & swapping are encouraged. This afternoon is guaranteed to be an exciting & decision making task for all those who are coming. Please note children under the age of 15 is not allowed to join for safety reason.

Why learn to climb? : Tree Climbing, be it professional or recreational, is an excellent mental & physical exercise. There are now over 19, 000 CA in ISA but less than 700 CTW. Tree Climbers belong to a special breed & they are surely proud to be. Tree Climbing is necessary for aerial inspection during tree assessment, & for structural pruning & rigging. Sometimes Tree Climber is employed to remove bird nest or even saving a cat. Wildlife observation is frequently coupled with Tree Climbing for camera installation & establishing visual station. Besides, when you are on top of a tree, all you would think is how not to fall, & not your worries & stresses anymore. Tree Climbers are usually physically & mentally fit, & long living. They tend to be good singers chanting tunes during their way up.

Condition of Joining : Please note no insurance will be provided against injury or accident of any kind during this trip & during the training session. Nobody including the ISA HK/China Station, the Station Manager or anybody else will accept any responsibility or liability for personal loss or accident of any kind during any part of the trip or training. Please purchase your own individual travel insurance if you need it. Anyone joining in is assumed to have accepted the Condition of Joining stated here. The training is given in good faith that the trainee is in good physical & mental condition to accept the training. The Station Manager has absolute authority to terminate the training to anybody if he regards the trainee is unsuitable to take up the training anytime for safety consideration. The Station Manager has also the authority to evict anybody in middle of the trip or training if he finds the participant uncooperative with the instructions.

Cancellation: If less than 20 bookings are received by 5 pm of Oct 5, the trip & training will be cancelled with immediate notice.

This is another occasion that ETF is opening up for BTC & other training for Station Members who have been forlornly enquiring for practical training opportunity for which the Station Manager can only do free of charge if at ETF which is at his disposal when without liability of any kind. We expect enthusiastic response for this training. Even before this notice was due to appear, 12 Station Members have already signed their names on through phone calls after they have been whispered. News really travelled fast for our Station Activities. Please therefore send in your booking ASAP to avoid disappointment.

Looking forward to making this training session another successful event at ETF like many others in the past.

best regards,

Sammy Au
Station Manager

ISA HK/China --- Oct CA exam details

Dear Station Members & Anybody,

It is the pleasure of this Station to announce that an ISA Certified Arborist (CA) exam will be arranged in the HK/China Region as follows:

Date: Thursday, 25 October, 2007

Time: 4.30pm - 8.30pm

Venue: Assembly Hall, Fung Kai No. 1 Secondary School, 17 Sheung Shui Jockey Club Road, Sheung Shui, Hong Kong

Maximum number of seats : 80 candidates, on a first come first served basis

Deadline of Application to ISA Headquarters : 4 October, 2007 (All Candidates MUST apply on-line to ISA HQ at www.isa-arbor.com & inform this Station at the same time for local record. Missing records can not be helped on our side if not given. Those who are re-taking the exam must follow the instructions stated in the ISA exam result letter.

Please kindly note the exam may be cancelled or postponed for unforeseen events such as the hoisting of typhoon signal no. 8 or higher, or Black Rainstorm Signal in force, or for any other reason. The candidate can always call the Station Manager at 9090 6719 on the exam day to make sure, if in doubt. Please kindly note ISA exams in the HK/China Region are run by volunteers without pay at their own time & expenses for the benefits of Station Members & public. Please have pity on them.

For those of you who are not yet ISA HK/China Station Members, we would encourage you to join us for update in local tree affairs & ISA activities including exams & training in our region of HK,Macau, Taiwan & China. ISA HK/China organizes ISA activities qualified for CEU after you have become a CA. All ISA Credentials are only valid for 3 years at present & all CA/CTW will need to collect enough CEU in this period to renew their status. Our Station can provide that usually free of training cost. Alternatively, you may wish to visit our Blog of http://isahkchina.blogspot.com for additional information, although most images are not attached there due to size.

Thank you for your kind attention.

best regards,

Sammy Au
ISA HK/China Station Manager
ISA Chief Proctor for the HK/China Region
ISA Certified Arborist / Certified Tree Climber no.ML-0174AT
International Tree Failures Database Coordinator for the HK/China Region
Independent Tree specialist to the HKSAR Govt
Lecturer of Tree Supervision at CITA

ISA HK/China --- Big Spreading Trees in Hawaii

*** Our weekly Station Mail is for the information of Station Members only, but Station Mail has given up copyright & can be freely circulated. For administrative reasons, comments from outsiders are usually not entertained & may be circulated within our system locally & overseas. Please note Station Mail is sometimes given in Blog at http://isahkchina.blogspot.com , although images are usually not attached due to size. ***

Dear Station Members,

On the last day of the 2007 ISA International Conference, a walking tour was organized by the Hawaiian Society of Commercial Arborists to visit their city & park trees. What was most impressive for the Station Manager was to see the many Big Spreading Trees growing in city parks of Honolulu for public enjoyment. A few photos of them are attached for general information & comparison with the Shade Trees growing currently in our parks & open areas in HK/China.

It can be seen that the crown diameters of these Big Spreading Trees are normally over 40 m & the Live Crown Ratio (Height of Foliage / Total Height ) is generally over 60%. This shows that the trees are having adequate foliage to produce carbohydrate from Photosynthesis & will have good wind resistance due to their low Centre of Gravity. It can be also noticed that these trees have been structurally pruned all the way & incorrect pruning such as Topping or Lion-Tailed Pruning was not detected in the canopy. There were hardly any decay, cankers, galls & mechanical damage on the tree body, showing that the trees were maintained in good health. It was very apparent that these Mature Trees have been given good care all the way so that they can grow to such aesthetics, health & structure.

How often do we see Big Spreading Trees in our city parks & open areas as comparable to these in Hawaii, no matter in public or private properties?

Some would say HK has not got the space to accommodate Big Spreading Trees. This Station would argue that if we do have space to plant just one Big Spreading Tree, at least 10 smaller trees would be installed instead to occupy the same area. It seems that we tend to enjoy quantity, never mind the quality.

Imagine how inconvenient it is to manoeuvre under 10 tree trunks & branches rather than just one in the same space. Can we cycle or stroll under 10 trunks without bumping into one by accident? Then what about the competition for water & nutrients of 10 poor trees all squeezed together in a tiny forest. Would pests & diseases not spread faster for 10 trees? Would it not be another HK housing condition in the 1960's ??

Tree Selection in HK would generally go for 'flowering' as the priority because some reckon that colour & scent are the primary amenity of a tree. Some do not understand that what's seen flowering in books or computers may not flower at all on site, becasue flowering requires success in vegetative growth beforehand. Then how many of us would consider the amenity values of the ' flowering' tree after flowering. Also, do flowers stay on forever? Of course not, probable for something like a month at most for general species. Would anyone then query the wind resistance ability of the ' flowering' species so selected? The answer may be found in the many urban trees fallen after a small typhoon. Trees with a lot of flowers usually belong to weak wood & facts speak for themselves. For Arborist, it is always ' Mother Nature makes the rules, not us.'

The Station Manager has seen trees in Singapore mostly selected for health & structure to cool their city, with 'flowering' as a secondary consideration or just bonus. After all, flowers on trees are usually carried at the outer perimeter of canopy to attract birds & insects for reproduction, not for any purpose of we humans. They can hardly be touched or smelled unless you climb close. Then how many of us are Tree Climbers?

Trees in Singapore are recognized to be a great success & a valuable asset to their country. As a rule, trees are always selected by Arborists in Singapore in Govt landscapes.

Are Big Spreading Trees difficult to grow? The answer is no, but we need to master some basics. Arborists would have all the answers because they are the true Tree Care Professionals. To begin with, we need to select the right species with good nursery quality, & give them room above & below ground to grow. Structural Pruning is of paramount importance. Without corrective pruning, even the best nursery stocks in the world would grow wild in an urban environment. Then regular Tree Inspection & Risk Assessment are required to maintain health & structure, & to minimize hazards. Tree Climbing will be required for such work to penetrate inside the canopy. Platform lift can usually reach the outside of the canopy & may conflict with protruding branches.

Now we can see how the different knowledge of arboriculture are knitted together to produce Big Spreading Trees. Parts to be missed out in the operation will be like a broken chain. A complete treatment for a tree is like a complete diet for a person. There is simply no shortcut.

Big Spreading Trees are of such aesthetics & amenity values that we should develop them in HK/China. They are the genuine 'trees' described in our textbooks & they are loved by the public. Then are there any Big Spreading Trees anywhere in our urban area maintained in quality comparable to these ordinary Hawaiian park trees ? Station Mail would love to collect some photos to show the world indeed. This will make us proud.

A lot of the Big Spreading Trees so visited in Hawaii belonged to no more than ordinary Ficus, Samanea & Crataeva species. They are no magic to us in HK, but their proper tree care is magic.

In Hawaii, people were seen enjoying themselves under the relaxation of the Big Spreading Trees. Peace of mind can be felt while resting under the tree canopy, despite the ambient temperature of 32 C around. The benefits of trees can be truly appreciated when one is standing under or looking from a distance at these magnificent trees.

HK seems to be cooking political turmoil after 1997. Our public spent too much time in politics to grind heat for no positive results. If they would spend just a part of that time as an alternative on caring for our trees, maybe we can have a much more harmonious society for better living. In the rural past, villagers talked a lot about their trees. Trees were part of the community. We don't seem to hear this kind of conversation often these days. Is it because we keep losing our Mature Trees?

Maybe when our ' Victoria Park Uncles' in HK came to rest under these magnificent Big Spreading Trees, their conversation would change from political argument to measuring & comparing trees nearby. Would that not be the 'harmonic society' that our current Govt genuinely desire?

Big Spreading Trees are magic indeed. Do we want them, & how ??

best regards,

Sammy Au
Station Manager