VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - While much information presented to green industry professionals and consumers deals with proper tree selection, planting and maintenance, the focus is generally on the above ground tree - the trunk and crown - not on the roots.
To provide more information on roots, a new set of educational materials, titled “Making Tree Roots Visible,” has just been completed by Virginia Tech. This set, designed by horticulture professor Dr. Bonnie Appleton and graduate students Katherine Kilburne and Susan Ruiz-Evans, consists of a PowerPoint presentation on CD, a poster and plans for constructing rhizotrons (structures with clear walls to permit nondestructive viewing of trees).
The PowerPoint presentation, consisting of 102 frames, provides information about roots - their importance, function, growth patterns, environmental and cultural needs and tree root problems - through text, graphics and photographs.
A four-color poster illustrates tree root functions, and a list compares detrimental and beneficial cultural practices relative to tree roots. The rhizotron plans show construction of both small portable and large in-ground rhizotrons.
The National Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council funded the educational project through a Challenge Cost-Share Grant. The CD and rhizotron plans, along with 100 copies of the poster, have been mailed to all state urban forestry coordinators for their use and distribution. Parties interested in receiving a copy of the CD should contact their state urban forestry coordinators.