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Street Tree Trials and Research

If we measure tree performance and correlate it to site conditions we can start to see which tree species work where and why, and conversely, which trees fail and why.

Of course, there are many factors impacting on the health and utility of any given street trees: species, watering, maintenance procedures, root stock, soil PH, infrastructure and so on. A given tree's performance can also be measured in a number of different ways - amenity, shade, impact on foot paths, overhead wires, and so on.

We collect basic data of this kind about sets of trees which we call street tree trials, or 'trials' for short.

We ask participants to start trials of this kind and then periodically collect data about them, submitting that data to our online database. What data they collect and how often they do it is up to them. Each participant in TREENET decides his/her own level of participation and how they can help.

Other participants don't actually start trials, but help collect data from them. They co-operate with organisations running trials and this co-operation is co-ordinated via the TREENET web application.
Others help in-kind; nurseries provide tree stock, businesses provide equipment or materials, councils provide labour, educational institutions provide know-how, schools provide students to help collect data and so on. It is a truly co-operative effort.

The data we collect is made freely available via this web site and through assorted publications.
By increasing available information about street trees a longer-lived, healthier and safer urban forest can be achieved.
For more information on how to start a trial, please contact David Lawry