This Oak was structurally compromised by a significant cavity at approx 2 metres above ground level resulting in heartwood decay.
The tree had already shed a major limb and as it was weighted over the adjacent public highway and neighbouring property it was decided that action should be taken to minimise the risk.
The cavity although compromising the stability of the tree, had potential to provide a very good habitat for a range of different species, so rather than remove the tree completely, we reduced the weight significantly and finished with a natural fracture pruning technique known as the coronet cut, the idea being to mimic as best as possible how it might look if the stems had failed naturally. Therefore, along with the basal cavity, this creates a great ecological habitat for all sorts of micro organisms, bats, birds etc etc.
This technique isn’t suitable for all trees in a domestic environment, but this tree was situated on a field edge and was a good candidate for this type of work.
