ISA HK/China --- Special Note of Thanks for ATCC Sponsorship

各位親愛的 '攀爬一族' 族人：

特别銘謝啟示

本族于發出 '亞太地區攀樹比賽' (ATCC) 的通知的當日內，收到 ISA HK/China 成員 Sam Chun 的以下信息，自願無償地奉献上港幣一千五百大元，作為本族參賽成員的差旅費津贴。

既知阿Sam並非本族成員，本身亦非 '爬手'，此舉只能推測他乃發自熱血良心，寄望本族有人能夠為港為國爭光，改寫歷史。

本族對于阿Sam的熱血豪情，深為感動，除立此銘謝之外，亦會努力督促參賽族人偈盡全力，莫負眾心。

阿Sam，你真好野，立盡大將之風，'攀爬一族' 會記住你！

'攀爬一族' 同人 敬禮
http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/treeclimbinghk


Dear Station Members,

Special note of Thanks to a Rare Good Man

Upon the notice of our participation for the Australian Tree Climbing Championship (ATCC) yesterday, we have immediately received a message form our Station Member Mr. Sam Chun to sponsor HK$1,500 for the event. We wish to express our sincere thanks for his selfless devotion.

It is known to us that Sam himself is not a Tree Climber & his intention to sponsor us for the ATCC should be entirely out of goodwill & conscience. This Station has never called for sponsorship & has started to calculate how much it would cost for our student climbers to come to the event. The sponsorship of Sam can be seen as a good beginning & as positive support of our Station to represent HK/China in a regional competition. It is anticipated that each student climber would cost around HK$15,000 to send & they have practically no income. It is likely that this Station will limit to sponsor only two student climbers within our best effort.

It can be felt that Sam devoted his sponsorship not for fame or fortune. In fact, this Station has never notified him that we would issue this Thank You note in advance. This Station wishes to pay respect for this rare good man with a kind heart & enthusiasm to see others bring home glory & honour to our society. On the other hand, has our territory of HK/China ever before sent out a tree climbing team to compete in any regional or international event? Is tree climbing not a sport or a profession to upgrade our tree practice?

Our society seem to dive straight like China to making quick cash by ignoring positive action to upgrade our standard of living. Quality standard of living can not do without good trees. Good trees can not happen without proper tree care. By the time we have built our city into a solid concrete mass & then want good trees, it may not happen anymore because it is always 'Mother Nature makes the rules, not us ...'

Thank you cordially Sam for your excellent insight. You might have spent a few percent of your monthly salary on this sponsorship, but your name will live within us in this Station for a long long time to come.

with kindest regards,

Sammy Au
ISA HK/China Station Manager
http://isahkchina.blogspot.com



----- Original Message -----
From: fdo2.lu@hyd.gov.hk
To: Eurasian Garden Ltd.
Sent: Monday, December 03, 2007 2:57 PM

Subject: ISA HK/China (Professionals) --- Invitation to Participate in 2008 Brisbane Regional Tree Climbing Competition

Dear Mr. Au,

Though I am not able to become a team member representing ISA HK/China forthe ATCC, I would like to sponsor HK$1,500 to those Fung Kai Climbers who will take part in the Competition.

The amount I sponsor is only minimal when compared to the total expenses those young participants have to bear, but I think my move will eventually encourage a lot others to do the same.

Yours truly,

Sam

ISA HK/China --- Invitation to participate in ATCC of May 2008

Dear Station Members,

The challenge has finally come.

ISA Australian Chapter (ISAAC) has sent us an invitation to participate in the Australian Tree Climbing Championship (ATCC) next May in Brisbane. The details of the competition are attached. Are we ready for it?

It is likely that tree climbers from Japan, Australia, New Zealand & some other countries will participate in this regional tree climbing competition. We, ISA HK/China, represent a region comprising HK, Macau, Taiwan & Mainland China. We are perhaps the largest in term of territorial size & population among all ISA Chapters & Associated Organizations in the world. With all our wealth & population mass, yet can we organize & send out a tree climbing team to represent our region ??

To the knowledge of this Station, the HK tree climbers should be the best trained & most experienced within our territory, with Macau only just started, Taiwan unknown internationally & China not even begun. HK is the best bet we can have for this ATCC. We have the Fung Kai Climbers who are all below 20 years old & a few of them are now working as professional tree workers in HKGC. With some training & sponsorship, they may be our best hope.

On the other hand, we have other professional climbers from HKAS, CLP & KFBG. We also have AFCD & LCSD climbers of an average age of over 40. We do not know how interested they would be to take part in an event as such.

Nevertheless, any of us wishing to take part in the ATCC will represent ISA HK/China for the territory of HK, Macau, Taiwan & China. Winning anything back will be a lifetime honour & glory for our region. ATCC will be the first time that our territory will ever enter in an international scale to compete with the world. It will be an unforgettable occasion.

So, able young men & women, are you ready for the challenge? Are you ready to fly our flag & take up the heat to push up a tree like our regional partners? This Station is waiting for your call.

Who will write history for us in our region ?

best regards,

Sammy Au
Station Manager


----- Original Message -----
From: Doug Sharp
To: richard.wanhill@horttraining.ac.nz ; egc@netvigator.com ; Ganesan_S_K@nparks.gov.sg ; john@treeclimbingjapan.org
Cc: Craig Hallam
Sent: Friday, November 30, 2007 12:10 PM
Subject: Invitation

Dear all,

Attached is an invitation from ISAAC for representatives from your region/chapter to compete in the Tree climbing events in Brisbane next May.Please don't hesitate to reply to me for more info if required.

Regards,

Doug Sharp
Business Activities
Earth Sciences
NMIT
p. 61 3 92698914f. 61 3 92698912m. 0417541157e. dougs-hrt@nmit.vic.edu.au


Dear International Guest,

Hopefully by this time you have received and read information regarding the Inaugural ISA Asia Pacific Conference, Tree Climbing Championship and Workshops to be held in Brisbane on 9 to 14th May 2008.

On behalf of ISAAC and the Australia Tree Climbing Committee we cordially invite the your Chapter/affliation/station to enter 2 male and 2 female contestants to compete in the competition to be held over the 9 & 10th May 2008. Please follow this link to the ISAAC website to download the entry forms . Entries will close unconditionally on 11th April 2008 and 8th May for the Head to Head Footlock.

*Please note that International competitors are eligible for the Masters Challenge, however they can not be named as Australain Champion, the highest placed Australian will take this honor.

Traditonally nominated climbers have been the highest ranked placings in your local event. Should you choose to enter persons through an alternate selection process, ISAAC stipulates that the person MUST have competed in a local, state or national event previuosly, all entrants MUST be financial ISAAC/ISA members.

As you are also aware without officials to run the events it does’nt happen, therefore we would greatly appreciate it you we able to provide 2 officials/judges to assist on Friday and Saturday.

The Australian Tree Climbing Championships are an integral part of this entire event, in 2008 we are anticipating an event of the proportion not seen in the southern hemisphere before, infact we believe it will be a world first.

Friday will commence with the competitiors and officals meeting at the Sthil breifing session at the Royal on the Park (conference hotel) on Friday 4.30-7.00pm. Once the meeting is complete all competetors will then relocate to the Footlock event which is being held underlights and commencing at 7.30pm. We will be using electronic timers with the view of a World record time being recorded.

At the conclusion of the competeion event, we will move directly to a open head to head footlock, eligible entrants must have a recorded time of 20 secs for men and 30 secs for women.
Prizes to value of $500 for men and women are on offer.

Times are also eligible for a World record. Please note the head to head event is open to anyone in the world that qualifies. Saturday’s remaining events will commence at 7.30am with the females masters starting at 2.00pm. At 6.00pm Staurday evening the Stihl Tree Climbing awards will be presented with some finger food sponsored by Stihl

Also a practical climbing and rigging workshop, along with several other workshops are running on the Sunday which may also be of interest to your climbers, the full conference is of course is open to them. Go to www.isaac.org.au for registration and information.

ISAAC and the ISA look forward to seeing you in Brisbane. Please email or call me if you require further details at your earliest conveinence.

Regards

Doug Sharp
ATCC Director
03 92698914
0417541157
dougs-hrt@nmit.vic.edu.au

ISA HK/China --- Our Station went on 'Arborist News'

*** 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,

It is an honour & pride for ISA HK/China Station to appear on the international magazine 'Arborist News' in the October 2007 edition, as shown in the attachment. Once on this magazine, readers from 50 countries around the world will see our image as edited by this influential publication.

The interview of the Station Manager to Arborist News took place actually several months before the printing in order to catch up with the editing. Within these few months, positive development has occurred in our territory for arboriculture. Therefore, some of the information so mentioned in the interview may already be outdated by today's standard. In a nutshell, ISA Arboriculture is seen to be receiving attention from our Govt by sending in Civil Servants to sit for the Certified Arborist exam & by arranging seminars for our Station to participate. New positions such as the Independent Tree Specialist (ITS) & Competent Person (CP) were created to allow Arborist to practise in Govt Contracts. Trees of international quality were begun to be required by Govt Depts. We feel our Govt are lending gradual support to recognize the values of the Arborist Profession in available manner in order to protect & preserve the trees in our territory.

On the other hand, the public sector did not seem to advance much in the recognition of proper arboriculture as compared to the Govt. There were numerous complaints for tree malpractice in the media but hardly any organization would invite us to give them a talk on proper tree care or ISA. Action appears to be far lacking behind from that of the Govt. Many reasons may account for this phenomenon, with perhaps the existing interest of certain groups or commercial interest remaining the major concern possibly. After all, the employment of Arborist would involve additional cost & new learning. No employer would prefer to pay extra if it can be ever avoided, & would try to fend off Arborist unless absolutely required by Govt administration. This appears to be a fact of life.

It can be seen that in Singapore with the massive number of Arborists working in their Govt Depts has produced some of the finest trees, & thus quality living environment, in Asia. Singapore does not seem to stop there & would demand the best all the time. The National Parks Board of the Singapore Govt (Nparks) recently paid extra to buy two container load of quality trees from ETF to serve as comparison to their local stocks. They have emphasized by action that quality stocks is the first key to success.

HK would obviously like to do the same, although resistance in HK is likely to be heavier especially in the private sector. HK tends most of the time to place price over quality & HK is influenced heavily by China in nursery stocks supply. Some buyers would even regard having topped trees for landscape would enhance survival & reduce water stress. The long term vision of having cheaper maintenance with quality trees would not bother a lot of the contractors because they would only last to until the end of DLP. Then it becomes the liability of the maintenance party. HK speaks a different story indeed.

On the other hand, HK people are known to be adaptive & innovative. Once the knowledge is exploited by them, things may begin to change. It would be hard to be self-complacent in your landscape when your trees would fail like dead flies after every storm. Complaints & law suits may follow. Facts speak stronger than words.

This Station will remain dogged in the development for modern arboriculture in our territory as we should do, despite resistance & obstacles. After all, we are not the first of our kind in the world. We are simply followers of many others. ISA was started in 1924, long before many horticultural groups or landscape groups have even been born. May those who believe in our course lend support to proper design, installation & maintenance of quality trees in our territory, so that our trees can truly become our asset in place rather than on paper.

May we all persist.

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 --- Summary of Reviews up to Nov 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,

A Station Member has called in to request for a list of reviews carried out by this Station from 2006 to 2007. The list is now produced below for the interest of our Station Members to comprehend the research that this Station has carried out so far:

Title Date

1. Review of ' Glossary of Arboricultural Terms 2005 ' by ISA 31.7.06

2. Review of ANSI z133.1 Safety Standard 2006 (Part 2) on Crane Safety 28.8.06

3. Review of ANSI z133.1 Safety Standard 2006 (Part 3) on Chainsaw, Climbing & Pruning 4.12.06

4. Review of ANSI z133.1(2006) Pt. 1 (QA, PPE & Electrical) 14.7.07

5. Review of Basic Tree Biomechanics 25.1.07

6. Review of Cornell University website on tree
management
7.9.06

7. Review of Dr. Alex Shigo's website address on Tree Biology 24.8.06

8. Review of Dr. Shigo's Tree Biology series 18.10.07

9. Review of ETWB Technical Circular (Works) No. 3/2006 on Tree Preservation 28.6.06

10. Review of LAO's PN no. 7/2007 on Tree Preservation in Private Projects 12.10.07

11. Review of Latest Aerial Rescue Protocol collected from the 2007 ISA International Conference 28.8.07

12. Review of Latest development in Tree Stability Assessment for trees with internal decay 19.2.07

13. Review of New Criteria in Tree Hazard Assessment by USDA Forest Service (USFS) 18.6.07

14. Review of Principles of ISA Tree Selection Method 21.3.07

15. Review of Prof Ed Gilman's website on trees in landscape 10.8.06

16. Review of research on Tree Stability Assessment (TSA) 5.3.07

17. Review of selected literature published by AA 17.5.07

18. Review of the book 'Urban Soils - Applications & Practices' 25.6.07

19. Review of the BS 3936-1 of 1992 ' Nursery Stock --- Part 1 Specification for trees & shrubs ' 18.8.06

20. Review of the BS 4043 of 1989 ' Recommendations for Transplanting Root-balled Trees' 24.7.06

21. Review of the BS 5837 of 2005 'Trees in relation to construction --- Recommendations ' 28.4.06

22. Review of ETWB 2007 Pruning Guidelines 27.9.07

23. Review of Prof Mattheck's ' Tree Bio-mechanics' 15.11.07

Most of the above mentioned reviews are stored in the Station Library as well in Station Blog of http://isahkchina.blogspot.com/ for our Station Member to retrieve. Please kindly note the Arboricultural education is an advancing profession. Knowledge of the past may be superseded by updated research accordingly. What was said in former review may be outdated by current research sometimes. It is therefore advisable to stay close to our Station Mail for continuous progress.

Besides the above Reviews, this Station has a collection of hundreds of Station Mail on other topics including HK Tree News & China Tree News in Station Blog. Please check them up at your convenience.

Please kindly contact this Station if any Station Member has any further question in this matter.

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 --- HK Tree News (WTS Chainsaw Accident & Alleged Tree Felling in Tai Po)

*** 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,

Two sets of recent tree news in our territory for our interest:

1. Wong Tai Sin Chainsaw accident

It is sad for this Station to learn of the unfortunate Chainsaw Accident so happened in Wong Tai Sin on Nov 20 so described in the attachments. This Station wishes to offer our deepest condolence for the Chainsaw Operator who was seriously injured during the work, & hope he can recover soonest.

The description in the two newspaper cuttings has offered conflicting account for the accident. One newspaper reported that the two workers were wearing safety belts climbing the tree but the trunk could not support the weight & broke off, throwing the two workers to ground causing injuries. The other newspaper reported that one worker was using a ladder for climbing but lost his balance during Chainsaw Operation & fell off, while the cut branch dropped to hit the supervisor below. With conflicting reports as such, the cause of the accident would require further investigation.

It is known to this Station that Tree Climbing with Chainsaw Operation would be a highly dangerous manoeuvre & would require the tree workers sufficient training & experience to perform safely while working on tree. Tree work accidents have ranked among top 5 for industrial accidents in the USA for years & tree work is required to be performed by qualified personnel in Europe & America. HK does not have specific regulations with regard to tree climbing & Chainsaw Operation so far, but would have Occupational Safety & Health regulations such as CAP 509 for general principles.

For ISA Arborists, we would generally follow the Safety Requirements for Arboricultural Operations laid down in ANSI Z133.1-2006 which has given detailed account for elevated tree work. In Court, this ANSI will become our reference for Expert Witness or Defense for any legal pursuit.

This Station has generally some questions to ask in an accident of this kind:

1. Were these workers trained & qualified for the work?
2. Were they wearing proper Personnel Protective Equipment (PPE) especially safety goggles to protect the eyes?
3. Did they inspect the tree to ascertain it was safe & strong enough for climbing before entry?
4. Did they have a work plan & emergency plan in case of accident?
5. Was First Aid Kit right next on site? Was anyone trained in First Aid & applied it right after the accident?
6. Were the tree workers climbing with approved Arborist Equipment such as Arborist Rope, approved Climbing Saddle & approved Safety Lanyard for entry?
7. Was there any Fall Arrest measure against falling?
8. If a ladder was used, was it used in compliance with the manufacturer's recommendation & procedure?
9. Was any of the worker trained to operate a Chainsaw?
10. Was any of the worker trained to performed proper pruning? If so, to what international standard?
11. Who ordered this tree climbing & Chainsaw operation? Was there any specific instruction given to the workers?

This accident is likely to invite Govt inspection, insurance claims & perhaps even legal proceeding. An Arborist can be employed to provide Expert Witness on either side. Arborists are Tree Doctors & Tree Detectives. An experienced Arborist can root out the problem & indicate liabilities.

Tree Climbing & Chainsaw Operations will be the training given at Tree Climbing HK (TCHK) in due course.

Join TCHK?

2. Alleged Tree Felling in Tai Po

Someone was fined HK$30,000 for an alleged tree felling without Govt approval but appealed to have the case reviewed at a higher Court & won. She spent over HK$ 200,000 to employ one of the best lawyers in HK to fight her case.

All this Station could advise may be that she could employ a qualified Arborist to inspect the alleged tree in the beginning & presented an Arborist Report to the relevant Govt Dept for consideration before taking the matter in her own hand. An Arborist Report of this kind would only cost HK$10,000 in accordance with the Professional Fees Guidelines laid down by ISA HK/China & it would be much more friendly to discuss the matter over technical ground than in legal ground in Court.

It is interesting that in our territory when it comes to tree affairs, all in a sudden everyone would become a Tree Expert without the consideration for Arborists. The other 50 countries in the world may be wrong to recognize Arborists to be the Tree Care Experts & ISA should not be established in 1924, if such view is correct. Would the people with this view say the same for Medical Doctors ? Then why should they say it for Tree Doctors ?

This Station has a long way to go to educate our public indeed for proper tree care.

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 --- HK Tree News (Metal Tree Grills, Power Line Pruning & Scorching)

*** 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 3 sets of recent Tree News in our territory for your interesting reading:

1. Metal Tree Grills

Residents wrote in to complain about the Tree Grills obstructing root growth & inducing tree failure. From the photos so shown, it can be seen that the roots were over-growing the Tree Grills & girdled around them.

Interesting enough in the Arborist education seen by this Station so far, there is hardly any information for or against the use of Tree Grills in planting a tree. From common sense, an Arborist would understand that a Tree Grill made of heavy metal would compact the soil underneath by its own weight or by pedestrians trampling over it. Having a dead weight on top of the root system in times of vibration by traffic or nearby construction would lead to downward compaction, especially when the soil is wet with rain or irrigation. If the species chosen would develop plank roots like those shown in the photos, the Tree Grill would simply become an obstacle for root expansion. Obviously if the Tree Grill is engulfed & girdled by developing roots at the root collar region, the effect would be like sliding a knife across the root collar. The constriction point will become the weakest link & toppling can then be expected in wind.

This Station has recently seen public parks abandoning the use of Tree Grills & placing sand cover as the uppermost layer on top of the root system. Some critics may say sand can be easily dispersed when walked upon. However, sand would lead to lower compaction & transmit water & oxygen better. Sand also would not obstruct root growth.

Organic mulch seems to be the most popular choice as top cover in a lot of Western tree planting. However, some critics in our territory would say that dry mulch can be a fire hazard.

Then what should we use as best?

2. Trees Obstructing Power Lines

Someone complained about tree removal or topping by the management next to the overhead transmission of LRT in Tuen Mun. The management explained that the action was in consideration of safety.

An Arborist would be interested to find out whether the trees were planted before the installation of the overhead transmission or after in order to make a judgment. If before, then it can be viewed that the trees or species were incorrectly chosen not considering the future expansion of trees to contact the power lines. If after, then it may be a case of unfortunate incidence because no one could foresee the overhead lines would be placed there.

If a tree is not designed, selected, installed, maintained & inspected properly, it is likely to become a liability rather than an asset. The trees in this case may have witnessed this saying & ended up being removed or topped.

Sad story.

3. Tree Scorching in Crematory

Tree were scorched by being too close to the burners. This happed to the Wishing Tree in Tai Po in which the tree was scorched by burning incense underneath. Most tropical trees can not be burnt to stay well in this manner.

Once again, this is another case of chicken & egg situation of whether the trees were there first before the burners or after. If after, then apparently little consideration or respect had been given to the trees. Or the trees might have been naturally propagated there by nature. An Arborist just can not make a decision without finding more.

Arborists are Tree Doctors & Tree Detectives. Arborists must be fact-finding & truth-telling in his work with Integrity & Professionalism.

Then can we now say that we do not need Arborists in our community as an profession extra ?

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 --- Review of Prof. Mattheck's 'Tree Bio-Mechanics' 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,

It has been an enormous task for this Station to research into the lecture materials, websites & literature of this equally giant Tree Specialist of Professor Claus Mattheck of Germany. We have spent months actually. Profile of Prof Mattheck is given in the attachment for general information.

Despite some may think Prof Mattheck would behave eccentrically especially in his delivery of lectures (He enjoyed shouting 'Ha !!' to wake up the class), this Station has found his teaching is primarily based on years of observation on the behaviour of trees under various conditions with a lot of experimental work. In his books & lectures, Prof Mattheck has given hundreds of photos showing tree defects & responses under wind loading & this evidence serves to back up his claims. In a way, Prof Mattheck was speaking with details of his research, & its up to the audience to reply otherwise.

The 3 books & website besides the lectures notes of Prof Mattheck that this Station has reviewed are:

1. Stupsi Explains the Tree 3rd edition --- 115 pages (1999)

2. Updated Field Guide for Visual Tree Assessment (VTA) --- 170 pages (2007)

3. The Face of Failure in Nature & Engineering --- 208 pages (2004)

4. http://www.mattheck.de/

Whereas the first two books written in children's language can still be understood in most parts by an experienced Arborist, the 3rd book would definitely require knowledge of Physics & Engineering to apprehend all the equations & mathematics. The written language has been extraordinary in the sense that it was translated from German into English with a heavy European ascent. If anyone in our territory finds Dr. Shigo's Tree Biology with American colloquial English would be difficult enough to read, Prof Mattheck's literature might be even harder. To this Station, reading Dr. Shigo's work was like an uphill battle in every page, whereas for Prof Mattheck's would be for every sentence. There were times that this Station had to go back to Physics & Engineering textbooks to try to figure out the meaning of certain Tree Bio-mechanics terms so described. Arborist without such knowledge may be completely lost in a whirl.

If this Station is asked to compare Dr. Shigo's education with Prof Mattheck's, this Station would reply that Dr.Shigo's work was more on the microscopic side of arboriculture, whereas Prof Mattheck would focus on the macroscopic side. Dr. Shigo would dissect & go deep into the tissue response of a tree after wounding, & Prof Mattheck would focus on the Reaction Wood Development of a tree in wind. This Station felt the work of these two giants complimented each other, & each has filled in the void by the other.

The European attitude of Prof Mattheck in sustaining Mature Trees by constant Crown Reduction to minimize wind loading, would tend to counteract the American attitude of pruning only dead tissues to encourage healthy growth. The two philosophy seems to go in a completely opposite direction, & can anyone say keeping a shortened Mature Tree a crime against humanity while its life can be extended? It may really depend upon how one would take the preference. On the other hand, Prof Mattheck has stood up in Court many times to provide Expert Witness in law cases with his mechanical theories on Tree Failures, & his observation of the development of Fungal Growth in assessing failure time can be educational in our territory. Some of his ideas were completely brand new to many of us indeed.

This Station generally felt that Prof Mattheck's teaching was to incorporate Physics & Engineering into explaining how trees stand & fall. This Station would agree with the proposition of Prof Mattheck in that everything does eventually fail, be it material or organism. It's just that it should not fail prematurely in its designed life, be dead or alive. The ability to predict failure may rest on the knowledge of Failure Mechanics . Since Failure Mechanics are largely studied on objects rather than on living organisms, it may be appropriate that such engineering theories can be borrowed to begin the study on organisms as a start. For living trees, this would mean to combine Tree Biology & Tree Structure for predicting Tree Failures. Prof Mattheck's knowledge seemed to have supplemented the structural side of Tree Physiology in many ways.

Prof Mattheck's education on Tree Mechanics began with forces, vectors, moments, stresses, strains & then progressed to Failure Mechanics, & would even go as far as Mohr-Coulomb's Law of Soil Mechanics. Some may have gone far beyond the domains of our local landscapers & designers. Some would actually take an Engineer to understand what is going on. Yet to carry out Tree Risk Assessment & Tree Failure Analysis to any advanced extent, the knowledge of Bio-mechanics seems inevitable, especially if Expert Witness is to be provided in Court. However, this Station would be bewildered to ask our landscapers & designers to learn Engineering from ground zero to carry out such kind of work, unless we would like to imitate what Singapore has already gone ahead.

There were 5 of our Station Members including the Station Manager attended the 3 day Workshop on Tree Mechanics by Prof Mattheck in August 2007 in Singapore. Pretty much we were all lost during his seminars, because we did not study his information in advance & perhaps thought it could be easily apprehended. We were wrong. Now as this Station has returned to diagnosis this great man's teaching, the knowledge did not seem coming out from nowhere but rather from years of observation & hundreds of experimental research. It is our Station's principles to be fact-finding & truth-telling to be an Arborist in our territory, & Prof Mattheck's information appeared to go along with our belief.

This Station has so far reviewed in our limited capacity of the work of two Arboricultural giants Dr. Alex Shigo on Tree Biology & Prof Claus Mattheck on Tree Mechanics, one being expert on the microscopic side & the other on the macroscopic. Both are necessary to complete our knowledge on Risk Assessment & Failure Analysis. Both are necessary to serve our community with so many Mature Trees nowadays.

Prof Mattheck has expressed the last time he was in Singapore that the Tree Mechanics Workshop there may be his last to tour Asia due to the distance & efforts. May we hope he can change his mind some time in future if we can gather enough money to invite this giant to come over to our territory to share his expertise with us.

May Prof Mattheck live long, healthy & keep shouting 'Ha!!' to us in his lectures.

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 --- HK Tree News (Pruning public trees)

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,

It is all familiar that our public frequently complained about the so-called 'incorrect pruning' in our territory. When the attached newspaper cuttings were sent in, this Station decided to respond with an Arborist's viewpoint on events described as such.

In the first set of news, two Bauhinas were pruned for safety reason after branch breakage in strong wind in Ap Lei Chau. Someone wrote in to accuse ' wanton chopping' by a Govt Dept to disturb the greenery development in our city. The second news suggested planting trees in Tsim Sha Tsui created more liability than asset due to Tree Selection.

Before saying anything as such, an Arborist would need to look into the evidence presented for analysis. First, we would need to study the Design & Tree Selection in both cases as a beginning. In the Ap Lei Chau case, the trees selected were Bauhinias which are known not to develop a good Central Leader naturally, but would rather give crooked bends along the stem to branch out in unpredictable manner, which would pose a nightmare for anyone trying to structurally prune. If the Nursery Stocks were not initially selected to have good Central Leader, 60% Live Crown Ratio, Strong Branch Attachment, Balanced Canopy & Taper before installation, even the best pruning operator in the world would have a hard time to correct them back to good Structure & Health afterwards. Poor Nursery Stocks are a bad start & correction will take time & efforts. In reality, some trees may never be able to be pruned back to requirement at all.

Next, we shall need to understand who were doing the pruning? It was said to be the contractor. While it may be easy to teach a contractor to prune at the correct angle from Branch Bark Ridge to Branch Collar in a branch, it would be much harder to teach them what parts to remove & how much to remove. Pruning will lead to responsive growth in a tree. Incorrect pruning will lead to incorrect future growth. To be expert in pruning, the operator will need to understand Tree Biology for tissue response, & also Tree Biomechanics for wind stability. Would it not be too much to ask for a contractor to understand in such details of what they were asked to do? After all, they were only a contractor. It should really be the responsibility of an experienced Arborist to design & supervise the work, & to instruct the contractor on where & how much to cut, & for what objectives.

If an experienced Arborist is to be brought in to design & supervise the pruning, cost will be involved. According to the current Professional Fees Guidelines for CA to provide this kind of supervision for a day, the cost will be HK$6,000.00 each time. Can the tree owner provide this cost? Even if such cost can be provided to employ the right person to carry out the Structural Pruning, there may not be that many qualified Arborists available in our territory to perform the required work at present, because it is rather difficult to teach Crown Thinning, Crown Reduction & Crown Restoration in a classroom. For tall trees, Tree Climbing may also be required to get up inside the canopy to select the branches. Bucket Truck can not penetrate inside tree canopy safely but rather stay on the outside, & usually can not get on top to perform Crown Reduction. Then how many of our CA in HK can climb at present to do this kind of work?

The case in Tsim Sha Tsui followed similar principle of apparently selecting fast growing & wide spreading species without adequate room for future growth, which then led to continuous trimming back to reduce size. This appears to be a classic case of 'tree liability' upon improper Tree Selection in our territory.

The problems with our urban trees appear to be historical. The public also seem to have a lack of understanding of trees. To blame on the maintenance party alone would be like asking Cinderella to dance with an oversized shoe. Would that be fair? On the other hand, if it is the design & tree selection which are causing the problem, there is usually not much that the maintenance party can do to correct it afterwards. Sometimes, a complete renovation may be the only solution. Then the public may outcry for ' tree murder'. Isn't it easy to throw out criticism, but what about finding a workable solution?

Tree Pruning can be compared to human surgery on a person in many ways. No sane person would like his/her body to be operated upon by a meat butcher. Then why should thing happened to our trees ?? Time may be required to train our Arborists to perform quality pruning (with Tree Biology, Tree Biomechanics & perhaps Tree Climbing on real trees), & the road ahead will be long & winding. Maybe an immediate solution is to employ experienced Arborist to design & supervise pruning for certain categories of trees (OVT's, Mature Trees over a certain height/girth, Rare & Endangered Species, Champion Species, etc), & then train up the interested Arborists soonest (Join TCHK?). There appears to be no quick fix on it right away.

Has anybody any better solution?

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 --- Inauguration of ' Tree Climbing HK '

攀爬一族 報名申請表 2007年11月8日版本
1 中文姓名： 2 英文姓名：
3 出生日期： 日 月 年 4 最高學歷：
5 工作機構：
6 職位：
7 電郵或傳真：
8 手提電話： 9 辦公室電話：
10 攀樹經驗： 年 / 全無經驗
11 已考獲的樹藝專業資格：
12 身体有否缺陷？
13 閣下有否任何其他補充？
14 填表日期：

免責條款：任何人仕在參與「攀爬一族」及ISA HK/China Station 所舉辦的任何活動之時，均已自我檢查其身心狀況是已經完全符合當次活動的實際要求，才會加入是項活動，並對此條件絶無異議。參于者亦完全同意自負所有活動風險，不會追究舉辦者任何民事或賠償責任。所有參加本族或ISA HK/China Station 活動的人仕均完全明白及同意此「免責條款」後，才自願參加任何活動。
本人同意上述「免責條款」，自願加入「攀爬一族」。本人現將上述表格傳送至 ISA HK/China Station 或 攀爬一族 的egc@netvigator.com 電郵地址，並同意一經傳送，是完全代表本人同意上述「免責條款」，和現行或日後新増的族規族例。

（以下供本族內部記錄使用）
1 是否批准此項申請：
2 不批准此項申請的理由：
2 族號：
3 族類：
3 其他：

ISA HK/China --- Inauguration of ' Tree Climbing HK '

「攀爬一族」的族規族例 2007年11月8日版本

1. 本族有權拒絕任何人仕加入，而無須給與解釋或理由。

2. 為維持本族和諧團結，族長有權無須給予通知或解釋理由，將任何族員驅逐出族，所有族員對此不得異議。

3. 為了本族日後的可持續發展，日後本族可能會因應情況，在得到長老會議的批准後，對族員收取年費，及對舉辦的活動籌募經費，此等費用一經徵收，不會予以退回。

4. 所有族員必須堅持 ISA HK/China Station 所訂下的道德守則，包括誠信、專業、參與社會，找尋事實及道出真相等標準，違反者可能被導致驅逐出族。

5. 所有族員在參加本族活動之時，必須完全遵守導師指示，以免發生危險，違者可能會被馬上終止參與資格及被驅逐出族。

6. 為保持族員的參與本族的熱誠，以下規定各族類人員每年必須參與本族活動的最低次數：
a. 族長、副族長及長老族員：5次
b. 精英族及康體族：3次
c. 修行族：1次

7. 如當族族員未能達到上述第6項的出席次數，可能會被降格至下一族群或被驅逐出族。

8. 周年族員大會(AGM)是本族的最高權力架構，每兩年（暫定）會選出各族群人員(族長除外)。族長只由當屆ISA HK/China Station Manager 担任，無須經選舉產生。

9. 所有族群人員必須堅守自己崗位，族長有權在於任可時間改動族員架構，而無須通過周年大會進行。此舉只是必要時才會採用的緊急措施，以便本族不會發生部落衝突或權力鬥爭。

10. 日後本族可經長老會議商討論後，增添其他族規族例，與本版本同具效力。

ISA HK/China --- Inauguration of ' Tree Climbing HK '

<攀爬一族> 的基本結構 2007年11月8日版本
Basic Structure of Tree Climbing HK ( TCHK )
Chieftain
族長 ( ISA HK/China Station Manager 兼任 )




Chief(s) Tribal Council
副族長 (由選舉產生，人數未定) 長老會議 ( 由長老族員維持 )


Councillors
長老族

Professionals
精英族

Recreationals
康體族

Disciples
修行族

族長 (Chieftain) --- 無投票權，但有最後決定權，只能在零票或相等票才能投票，由當屆ISA HK/China Station Manager擔任。

副族長 (Chief) --- 有投票權，有實權，管理日常事務，必須是ISA考牌官，每2年由族員大會選出 ，任期2年。

長老會議 (Tribal Council) --- 由當屆長老族主持，決定所有會務，任期2年，由每2年的族員大會確定任期。

長老族 (Councillors) --- 成員必須是 CTW 或持有其他國家認可的攀爬修業証書，成員由族長或長老會議過半數長老族員同意後邀請進入，任期2年，由每2年的族員大會確定任期。

精英族 (Professionals) --- 懂職業攀爬，但未考獲上述牌照者，任期不限。

康體族 (Recreationals) --- 只懂康體攀爬者，任期不限。

修行族 (Diciples) --- 所有其他人仕，任期不限。


攀爬一族 — 的其他資料：


宗旨：不論年齡、性別、宗教、種族、學歷 、身體狀況及社會地位，謀其共同發展攀樹活動，由攀爬過程中學習保護樹木及維護生態平衡，從而促進個人身心健康發展。

活動：主要分為康樂攀爬，職業攀爬及相關樹藝知識訓練。

A. 康體攀爬 – 旨在為都市人減壓，發展其體力心智，歡迎任何人仕參加。

B. 職業攀爬 – 磨練樹上工作的各種技巧，例如鋸木、流纜、拯救、鏈鋸使用等等。安全訓練為主要重點，在於“ 預防勝於治 ”成員主為職業攀爬人仕，亦歡迎康體族員加入受訓。

C. 樹藝訓練 – 任何樹木知識和相關護養技術，歡迎任何人仕加入。

裝備： TCHK 歡迎族員自携攀樹器材以作自用。TCHK 亦可提供網上選購方便，本族亦可現場借出族員裝備以供試用，直至本族成功合資購買器材為止。

裝備要求：必須為國際認可的合規格爬樹腰帶、繩索、安全扣、和各類合格器材等等…

免責條款：任何人仕在參與「攀爬一族」及ISA HK/China Station 所舉辦的任何活動之時，均已自我檢查其身心狀況是已經完全符合當次活動的實際要求，才會加入是項活動，並對此條件絶無異議。參于者亦完全同意自負所有活動風險，不會追究舉辦者任何民事或賠償責任。所有參加本族或ISA HK/China Station 活動的人仕均完全明白及同意此「免責條款」後，才自願參加任何活動。

ISA HK/China --- Inauguration of ' Tree Climbing HK '

Dear Station Members & Respected Guests,

Inauguration of TREE CLIMBING HK (TCHK)

Today is another milestone in the development of ISA HK/China Station.

After hard work & careful planning by many, it is the utmost pleasure of ISA HK/China Station to announce that the Tree Climbing HK (TCHK) will be set up as an extension of our Station from today onwards !!

TCHK devotes mainly to Tree Climbing & anything relating to manoeuvring in a tree, be it Recreational & Professional. TCHK will focus on the action part of arboriculture. Yes, it will be on rope & on tree. TCHK will encourage participants to touch trees to love trees, & to enjoy the benefits of trees by physical contact. It will be an experience for those who sit in office all day to come out on a tree to dangle on rope. The climbing will be rehabilitating & refreshing. TCHK is promised to be fun-filled, action packed & very educational.

A major feature of TCHK is that it will communicate in Chinese to fit our public requirement, although English is used in time when necessary. TCHK will follow the Station Mail system of having its own channel to broadcast weekly messages, & it will reply enquiries in Chinese. This is intended to bring TCHK to our public at large & everybody is encouraged to join, be they office personnel to tree care professionals. Just everyone is welcomed.

There is no cost to join TCHK at present & TCHK Membership will be kept alone by the Chieftain who is the Station Manager by appointment. TCHK Membership will not be disclosed publicly just like Station Membership. Our Station Code of Honour of Integrity, Professionalism & Participation with an attitude of fact-finding & truth-telling will equally apply in TCHK. Please refer to the attachments for more information of TCHK which are in Chinese. Please also note TCHK has started up with a firmer structure than our Station which is more knowledge based. Tree Climbing can be dangerous & rules/regulations must be set up for beginners to follow. They are all for good intention because without them, accident may occur.

TCHK welcomes anybody to join !! TCHK has no distinction in colour or creed, education or wealth. Anyone interested in Tree Climbing & touching trees are welcomed to come in. Tree Lovers are particularly welcomed because this is their chance to talk to their favourite trees.

Please take a moment to study through the attached information of TCHK. Do enquire at 9090 6719 or by e-mail if anyone has any queries & TCHK is always there to help. Employers are kindly requested to pass this information to their Chinese staff for their individual consideration. All Station Members are requested to pass this message to their friends & colleagues for their interest to participate. This message will also be placed on Station Blog.

TCHK looks forward to your participation to climb, protect & preserve our precious trees in our territory, one tree at a time.

Climb safely. Touch trees to love trees.

best regards,

Sammy Au
Station Manager & TCHK Chieftain

致：全世界喜愛攀樹的同志們

熱烈慶祝ISA HK/CHINA STATION 「攀爬一族」的成立

同志們，ISA HK/China Station 籌備已久的「攀爬一族」，現在正式宣告成立！

「攀爬一族」是本會參與社會事務的一部份，是個比本會腦部戰爭更加精彩的一個部份，是喜愛攀樹活動人員不可缺少的一個部份。

攀樹活動是一項有益身心的寧神健體活動，自從其在國外數十年前開展以來，現在全球已有數十萬人參與過各式各樣的康樂攀爬。在參與過程中，當中不乏專業或職業攀爬隊伍，其目的只有一個，就是要愛護樹木及親近樹木。

當今都市人用腦太多，四肢缺少運動，在室內參加運動時又重回「家徒四壁」的感覺，精神緊張未得完全解放，試想起童年時候的攀樹採果，本是返璞歸真的開朗行為，須然當今都市生活已埋葬了此一切。

「攀爬一族」是希望令有興趣人士能夠重拾童真，亦希望透過攀樹活動，令市民更加親近及愛護樹木，是一種以行動來表示保育樹木的行為。

在我們熟悉的城市香港，其實有着不少的爬樹能手，政府部門當中，康文署及漁護署早已有自己的樹木工作隊伍，每天在樹木上工作，至於中華電力公司及嘉道理農場，亦各自有一組爬樹高手，護理其機構內的樹木。

當今現代的爬樹方法，是利用合符國際認可規格的腰帶及攀爬繩扣等工具進行，既有效率、靈活而且又安全。

香港的攀樹隊伍，早在多年前引入西方先進國家的技術及工具，所以現時香港的爬樹技術已有相當高的水平，可惜郤只局限在政府部門及少數私人機構內使用，未能普及推廣。
「攀爬一族」有見及此，自告奮勇成立由志願人士組成的專業及康樂攀爬隊伍，亦憑本會在國際及地區網絡的關係，希望能夠打造出一批符合國際水平的攀樹人員。

「攀爬一族」的主要訓練目標有兩個，一是職業攀爬，二是康樂攀爬。

職業攀爬的主要對象是現職樹木保養行業的人仕及有志投入該行業的人仕，攀爬一族將會定期舉辦訓練課程，並希望每年設定考試，令到本港甚至國內的樹木工作從業員，能夠考獲專業資格，從而提升樹木行業達至國際水平。

康樂攀爬的對象是社會上不同性別，不同年齡及不同階層的人仕，讓他們都有機會學習攀爬，接觸樹木，從而能共享健康及豐盛人生。

「攀爬一族」是一個不設界限，不分種族膚色，不論宗教信仰，不重身體狀況和社會地位的團體，歡迎任何人士參加。參加者只須填回附上的表格電郵至本族指定電郵即可，目前費用全免，直至另行通知為止。

此致

攀爬一族 全体成員敬啟
2007年11月8日
電郵：egc@netvigator.com

ISA HK/China --- Square Rootballs at ETF

*** 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 takes on the mission to constantly research on new arbor skills with our limited facilities at disposal. ETF is such a facility for trialling out various techniques & the results are forwarded on Station Mail form time to time for public viewing. The provision of Square Rootballs is now one of them.

Traditional rootballs are round in shape. This is described in many literature as Balled & Burlaped (B & B) trees grown & dug in field. B & B trees are nearly the standard practice for supplying landscaping trees in our territory due to low cost & a tendency of not having Girdling Roots if used fresh & not stored, in favour of Containerized Trees which frequently have developed Girdling Roots. Internationally, the recommended rootball size is about 10 x trunk diameter according to ISA education & also BS 4043, although this practice is not much observed in some of our landscape work especially in transplanting mature trees.

The idea of Square Rootballs at ETF is copied from some western tree nurseries who have been using it for some time silently maybe for commercial reasons. Square Rootballs have the following advantages as compared to traditional round rootballs:

1. More Roots --- For any given diameter, a square will have a bigger area & volume (at the same depth) than a circle, & will therefore contain more roots & soil volume to endure 'Transplant Shock'. More roots retained will favour recovery & enhance growth after transplant.

2. Transport Safety --- A cubic rootball will not roll as easily as a circular rootball in transport. Rolling can damage rootball & lead to foliage chafing & branch breaking in the canopy.

3. Preventing Girdling Roots --- Trees dug with Square Rootball can be stored up to a certain time without the development of Girdling Roots, because the new roots emerged will hit the flat sidewall & be generally deflected at 90 degree in any direction. Traditional round container will guide the roots to turn in circle to form Girdling Roots, which can strangle the tree later by constricting central vessels.

4. Storage Ease --- Square Rootball can generally stand upright on its own unlike conventional round rootball which curves from top down on the side. The side boards in a Square Rootball will perform as a square container for vertical standing.

ETF has sold trees with Square Rootballs to Govt Depts in HK & to customers in China. No adverse comments have been received so far. On the other hand, ETF will be pleased to hear any response with regard to this latest practice for improvement anytime.

HK now is pushing ahead with innovation in arbor development spear-headed by our Station with knowledge gained internationally through ISA contacts. It is this kind of trial & error that the tree care practice in our territory can advance to new height. Quality Nursery Stocks are always the first step to ensure a successful landscape besides a good design. Trees not selected & planted properly are likely to become future liability rather than asset.

This Station would welcome comments on the results of using Square Rootballs against round rootballs for open discussion anytime. Just send in your observation. Thank you.

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 --- Sylva Cell introduction

Dear Station Members,

Some of you may be involved in urban design in which finding enough rooting space to grow trees may be a major problem. In situation where heavy traffic by vehicles & pedestrians are major concern, tree planting has to give way to other structures such as pavement & road as priority. This Station has given information on Structural Cells for tree growing in the past but its application can be complex in both tendering & execution.

This Station has recently been advised by Enspec of Australia that they are now introducing a modular structural planting cell called Silva Cell at the following link:

http://deeproot.com/template.php?sec=products&nav=silva&content=sc_app&sub=1&lsel=1

This novelty product is made from polymers & is strong but light enough for tree planting in our urban situation. The link given has excellent description plus video to show the design & specification of the product for which anyone is recommended to look into. It appears that Silva Cell has answered some of our existing challenges in tree installation in our crowded city, although its use has to be experimented with pilot project. If feasible, & if prices can be justified, Silva Cell can be an alternative to planting trees in concrete box planters which may be the current substitution in many of our city areas.

Anyone interested to find out more on Silva Cell is requested to contact the supplier direct for additional information & trial. This Station will be grateful if anyone has tried it out to send us a review for Station broadcast in future.

best regards,

Sammy Au
Station Manager

ISA HK/China --- HK Tree News (Shing Mun River's 'Tree Murder'?'

*** 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 Mr. X,

Thank you for your phone call & your direction for us to look into the attached newspaper cutting. We have noticed that you are not our Station Member but are able to gain access to our information for which you are welcomed. We are also accepting your challenge to openly reply your enquiry & to protect your identity which we actually do not know much anyway. On the other hand, we want to assure you that there is no such thing as 'change of wind' of our Station policies upon your knowledge of LCSD staff taking part in our recent Certified Arborist exam. Our values of Integrity, Professionalism & Participation with an attitude of fact-finding & truth-telling have remained constant.

In your request for us to comment on the event of your so-called ' Tree Murder ' at Shing Mun River, our Station is taking up the position of Tree Detective instead of Tree Doctor in the investigation. However, please kindly note that we are commenting with only the given facts & photos in the attachment & we do not have time to study the situation on site. Sending someone out on site for a detailed reporting will involve cost, & the current Professional Fess Guidelines of ISA HK/China would recommend a fee of HK$10,000.00 for an Independent Tree Assessment (ITA) report of this kind for about two trees in a day. Therefore, here you get a limited reply for free, but only with what this Station has seen in the attachment.

May we first advise you that the Station Manager has done ITA report of this kind on many occasions for various Govt Depts & public in the past. He is also currently acting as an Independent Tree Specialist (ITS) to the HKSAR Govt on several projects & he has produced Expert Witness reports at High Court for tree related disputes. He may be a fair & just person for this kind of reply to you.

In the newspaper cutting so shown, the Besser blocks would impede the flow of water & fertilizer application into the tree roots, but they would not stop them altogether. Water can leak through the gaps between the Besser blocks & reach the roots underneath, or the trees so shown would not be growing with such foliage density. One way to determine whether the roots are developing or not under the Besser blocks is to open them up for a visual inspection. You may wish to apply for permission to do this at the authorities if desperately interested. Facts will convince everybody better.

Trees generally do not require heavy fertilization like shrubs or smaller plants. The Arborist education would recommend an annual application of around 2kg/100 sqm for most trees in a general situation. For trees of inadequate health, we would recommend fixing the problem before fertilizer application, rather than the other way round. This may be contrary to what you may have learned from other sources in the past. Facts will tell you that trees growing in our AFCD country parks do not receive much regular fertilization from human application. Don't these trees perform?

What this Station would see as a challenge would really be that the trees so shown were planted too close to the boundary wall of other planting area which may lead to root cutting on the wall side. This may render wind instability when the trees have matured & there does not appear too much can be done to it. Remember, if a tree is not designed, planted & maintained properly, the tree may become more of a liability rather than an asset. In this theme, the design & quality stocks selection are of primary importance if we want to see an easy maintenance afterwards.

We wish our reply now can assist you to understand how a Professional Arborist would view an event as such. Arborists are practitioners & we tend to look at situation in a practical sense. Please do not mix us up with other disciplines with our due respect to others. However, we have our own professional direction to follow & we prefer to speak with facts.

You are always welcomed to provide feedback, although this Station may not publish it by open Station Mail each time. If you would like to go into this investigation further, this Station would advise you to employ a Certified Arborist to carry out an Independent Tree Assessment with the approval of the concerned authority, although the site work & reporting would cost you.

Thank you for your interest in our communication & we hope this reply will find you well.

best regards,

Sammy Au
Station Manager
ISA HK/China Station ManagerISA Chief Proctor for the HK/China RegionISA Certified Arborist / Certified Tree Climber no. ML-0174AT
Member of Tree Climbers International (TCI) in HK/China RegionInternational Tree Failure Database (ITFD) Coordinator for HK/China
Independent Tree Specialist (ITS) to the HKSAR Govt
Lecturer for Tree Supervision at CITA

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)