New Technology saves Highbury Field’s Trees
The council’s tree service has just bought a new piece of equipment which will make themanagement of trees an easier task by being able to assess tree disease and decay.
The equipment has already saved a tree on Highbury Fields. The ‘picus’ machine can work out the extent of decay inside a tree using sound waves, a bit like an ultra sound machine used for checking unborn babies.
Information gained from a picus test enables a tree officer to make a much more informed diagnosis of the condition of a tree. In the past the unknown extent of decay in a tree often left no safe option but to fell. This equipment can’t be used to assess every type of disease that affects trees, but it will be invaluable to Islington’s tree service in assessing the condition of trees with external signs of trunk decay, and will allow a wider range of management options in many cases.
Islington is also one of only a handful of local authorities with this equipment. See below an example of a scan, the colours indicating the different consistencies of wood, and attached, a photo of tree officer Sheridan Sayer using the picus at Highbury Fields.
For more information please contact James Chambers on ext 4572 or e-mail james.chambers@islington.gov.uk.
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