help with mystery

[Raven]

I've been asked to explain why this Acer's bark is "falling off".

At first I'm thinking mechanical injury like lawnmower damage or some other human inflicted trauma.

Then I look at the neighbor's trees and see the same thing.

 

[Raven]

Neighbor #2 tree.

 

[Raven]

Neighbor #3 tree.

 

[Raven]

#3 at 6 feet high, so it's not just a root flare issue.

 

[Raven]

Close up of tree #1.

All three are Acer sacharinum, all about the same size although planting dates could not be confirmed (I had suspected that they all came from the same nursery at the same time), three very different back yards yet with no fences they share the same 'common space'. My client(#1) just noticed it this year, but neighbor #3 says he noticed the bark "falling off" last summer too. They both used the term "falling off" although neither has seen chunks of bark lying on the ground.

Any ideas on this will be greatly appreciated.

 

[TreeCo]

Sure looks like mechanical damage to me. Could be lawn mowers or kids with baseball bats, etc.

Just a guess but the root flares look very familiar as being caused by vehicle wheels and or mowing decks.

 

[Toparboring]

I am in agreeance with Treeco I see this kinda damage on the campus trees with mowers going buy to close or weedeaters.

 

[frans]

Ask yourself,
Where are the wounds?
Most of the wounds are consistantly on the root flair right at the point of where mowers, weed eaters etc make contact.

All have turf right to the root flair except for the first which has gravel and remnents of weed cloth. So the first picture looks to me like someone installed the edging and weed cloth after the wounding took place. Prob. after the wounding. Is it the only one with this edging in the neighborhood?
Sometimes a renter or homowner will fix up their tree and install this type of edging and gravel on their own, but often you will see a couple of homes with the exact same gravel and edging- the homeowners go in on the materials or one landscaper uses the same materials for a couple of yards.

Keep in mind that:
This species of Maple is prone to poor wound sealing. Go back to the job and check out the scaffolding limb structure- I bet you will see signs of poor wound closure.
Dont see any staining, 'bleeding' or any consistant signs or symptoms on the foliage such as tattered leaves, less leaves than normal, excessive deadwood?

Just consistant wounding right at the base?

The one picture that shows wounding higher up looks alot like a heart! Maybe someone carved that.

This is how you go about the Sherlock dectecting process of figuring out what is going on and the history behind the event that caused the wounding.
Seek the obvious answer first before going on to other prognosis. Just because they called in an Arborist does not mean a difficult solution, It just means that they or their 'landscape expert' could not objectivly see the answer that to you, the arborist, is plain to see.

Ask causual questions and initiate conversations like, " Hard to mow over roots, right? Or, "That weed wacker sure works better for the edging than the mower, right"? Do the same thing to try and figure out the drainage or soil depth in that area.
Sorta trick them into revealing what maintenance goes on or the lack of maintenance that goes on.

Keep in mind also that your conclusions may not be welcomed by the client.
Asking them to create a 'tree growing zone' at the very least will alter the look of the yard and cost money. Altering the sprinkler pattern to divert away from the trunk, costs even more money.

Also keep in mind that it is far more credible to substaniate what you verbally say. have some 'trees & turf' handouts, or something like that so they can refer to that when thinking or talking about what you said that evening or with the others in the home.
Remember that every bum on the street has alot to say and a lot of opinions, but few substaniate their words.
By the way, that sure looks like simple 'ol mechanical damage to me.

On a final note, this question you posted, and the situation you found yourself in, is the first step toward 'consulting'. Writing down this situation in a report form (whether or not you submit it to the client) will help you build the foundation and skills toward being an effective arborist.

 

[Raven]

Thanks for the feedback, I was already leaning strong toward the obvious answer(lawnmower,etc.) but was just curious as to whether anyone had seen this before due to something else. I'll do a little more sluething before I give them my diagnosis along with a hefty bill.

 

[Toparboring]

We went through a simulair situation until we came across a lawn care crew, mowing both sides ove the street and relized that they where mowing to close to the root flares and nicking them up.

 

[guymayor]

Great strategies by Frans--sneaky questioning brings out the truth more than accusatory questions.

Judging by the woundwood scarring, the damage was done a few years ago.

get that plastic away from the flare!

 

[thattreeguy]

#3 is a carving of a heart, the rest sure look like mechanical injury

 

[TreeDr]

You'd be surprised how much damage a 5 yr old can do with a baseball bat or a hatchet.