Page 120 - Zbornik_Konf_2019

https://doi.org/10.15414/2019.9788055220703

4 International Scientific Conference Abstracts Book
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HEALTH STATE AND STABILITY OF TREES IN URBAN GREENERY

Radovan Ostrovský, Marek Kobza, Katarína Adamčíková
Institute of Forest Ecology SAS, Department of Plant Pathology and Mycology,
Nitra, Slovak Republic; E-mail.: radovan.ostrovsky@ife.sk
Due to the safety of residents as well as the preservation of trees in urban greenery for
their social, aesthetic, cultural, and biological value, the great effort is being laid on evaluation
of health state and stability of trees. Visual assessment still persists as a key approach to
determine the health state of trees. For purposes of tree stability evaluation, visual as well as
instrumental diagnostic methods based on physical and physiological parameters
measurements are being used.
Among serious global environmental problems, pollinators, especially bees, are
endangered for various reasons. Pollinators play an irreplaceable role in plant pollination.
Among trees, planted in urban greenery, interesting genera for production of honey and
pollen by bees are Salix, Gleditsia, Robinia, Aesculus, Tilia, Acer and Sophora. Production of
honey from mentioned genera can reach from 10 to 1.200 kg/ha and production of pollen can
reach 40 to 216 kg/ha.
In our research, we evaluated trees, planted in urban greenery, visually assessed as
wounded and recommended for instrumental assessment of stability using acoustic
tomography. Principle of acoustic tomography of trees lays in sound velocity measurement in
a tree trunk, where the velocity of sound wood is higher compared to decayed wood. High
precision tomogram of the internal structure of wood is being achieved.
We evaluated 1.176 trees of 38 genera from approx. 50 localities in Slovakia. Among all
assessed trees, 53.91 % of trees are attractive for bees. Among them, there were 294 trees of
genus Tilia, 131 trees of Aesculus and 104 trees of Acer.
In our research, we determined tree stability index, trees of genus Sophora reached the
highest index of 1.14, trees of Tilia 1.17 and lowest index of 1.56 was determined on Aesculus.
Tree stability assessment, based on computed risk factor (RF) was also determined. Lowest
stability (<100 % RF) was detected on 4.4 % of trees, recommended on immediate felling.
23.5 % of trees were assessed as danger (<150 % RF). All other assessed trees (72.1 %) were
determined as stable (>150 % RF), even in spite of detected decay of other structural defects.
Based on our research experience, we consider acoustic tomograph Fakopp 3D as a
reliable instrument for overall tree stability evaluation, which allows gaining a brief and
precise determination of internal trunk structure as well as objective tree stability
computation.

Keywords: FAKOPP 3D, acoustic tomography, tree health, tree stability, tree stability index.

|120 4 International Scientific Conference Agrobiodiversity Nutrition, Health and Quality of Human and Bees Life
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September 11–13, 2019