Tree diagnosis

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In contrast to the simple tree control that is tree diagnosis (also tree investigation , tree appraisals ), the in-depth study of a tree by an expert on possible damages that the rupture or stability can affect the tree. The central topic of the detailed investigation is to check whether the tree in question, with its damage at the specific location, can withstand the conditions there. For this purpose, two different processes have been developed in Germany that are in strong competition with one another. Both methods begin the investigation with a visual inspection of the tree. Symptoms of damage on the tree and the tree's surroundings are looked for that indicate impairment of the stability and break security. The main difference lies in the method used to answer the question of stability and fracture safety:

1. Statically integrated assessment, SIA for short
, the wind load of the tree is calculated and compared with the load-bearing capacity of the trunk, branch or root plate, thus calculating the stability and break resistance.

2. Visual Tree Assessment , VTA for short
, the condition of the wood at the examination site is determined by drilling and using empirical records (failure criteria) to assess whether the tree is in danger of breaking.

Investigation method

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Werner Koch had made the Visual Tree Assessment teaching ( VTA for short ) his own and thus it was also included in his text "Updated wood value tables" - standard literature for wood value determination. The VTA method is a legally accepted method for tree control that is widespread worldwide. It interprets the body language of the trees, helps to interpret their warning signals, to confirm and measure defects and to assess all of this with failure criteria. VTA helps to distinguish only apparently dangerous trees from really dangerous ones and thus to maintain safe trees. It is also suitable for defending against unfounded claims for damages in the event of construction accidents and for enforcing justified claims for damages. VTA should therefore also be a contribution to legal peace.

Investigation steps

The VTA method is carried out in partial steps: The VTA method is based on the axiom of constant voltage. The axiom of constant tension explains, as a rule of fair load distribution, the formation of defect symptoms on the tree as repaired items. In the VDI guideline 6224 from 2012, Association of German Engineers, "Bionic Optimization", optimization methods based on the axiom of constant voltage are recommended, optimizations according to the rules of nature. VDI guidelines of this kind mature in lengthy consultation and examination procedures. The steps:

  1. Symptom detection
    1. Body language of trees
    2. Repair extensions
    3. The face of the bark
    4. Crown architecture and foliage
    5. Mushroom fruit bodies and their body language
    6. Location features
  2. Defect confirmation and measurement
    1. Drilling techniques (which are largely harmless - proven by long-term studies - wood strength measurement with a fractometer)
    2. Annual ring analysis
  3. Defect assessment
    1. Failure criteria for hollow and rotten trees
    2. Failure criteria for root damage (important: see tree accident after tensile test in Giessen on April 3, 2008)
    3. Failure criteria for healthy but tall trees (H / D ratio) OLG Hamm 2004

The failure criteria were verified by field studies and rated as scientifically correct by the highest authority.

VTA is state of the art. See also Agricultural and Environmental Law 6/2012, pp. 208–210

The VTA is based on reliable research results and is intended by science for practice. The method is used in 57 countries around the world. The European Standards Conference has prescribed VTA as the most effective method in its DIN: Climbing forest standard DIN EN 15567 March 2008. VTA is convincingly logical, practical and taken directly from nature.

Remarks

There are other methods and opinions that are not in line with Werner Koch. But of course they can also be cited. The following was also noted. If a purely visual tree diagnosis is not sufficient, measuring devices must be used to determine the tree condition. If endoscopy or drilling chip removal was used in the past, these injurious methods have increasingly been replaced by less invasive devices in recent years ( drilling resistance measurement , sonic tomography (e.g. Arbotom, Arborsonic 3D or PICUS sonic tomograph), in the scientific field also tomography with radiation sources or electrical Resistance). In this way, experts can derive information about the stability of the tree. An important parameter is the remaining wall thickness of a tree trunk. However, numerous trees are still sufficiently break-proof with a small remaining wall thickness. Another method is the tensile test , with which the elasticity of the wood and the anchoring force of the tree are determined and, taking into account the wind resistance of the crown, the break resistance and the stability of the tree are estimated.

Tree examination as part of road safety

Trees are also found along streets and in parks. Wherever they are in traffic-exposed areas, their traffic safety must be regularly checked by visual inspection without devices ( tree inspection ).

However, visual inspection of the tree is sometimes not enough. Various measuring devices and methods then supplement the tree inspection findings during the tree examination. The measurements should be case-specific and problem-related, so that information about the extent of damage, the remaining wall thickness, the material properties, etc. of the tree is possible. The measuring and testing devices detect and localize internal damage in trees, which can often not be seen from the outside.

Measuring and testing devices for measuring defects

literature

  • Conference folder of the seminar measuring and assessing on the tree -VTA- annual tree diagnosis seminar in the Research Center for Technology and Environment, Karlsruhe. - At the forefront of international research -. New developments and research results for practice are presented.
  • Claus Mattheck : STUPSI explains the tree , translated into 8 languages, Verlag Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, 2010, ISBN 3-923704-20-8
  • Claus Mattheck thinking tools according to nature , Verlag KIT Karlsruhe, 2010, ISBN 978-3-923704-73-6 , translated into English
  • Claus Mattheck: Updated field instructions for tree controls with Visual Tree Assessment , -VTA-Verlag Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, 2007, ISBN 978-3-923704-58-3 , translated into English and Japanese
  • Claus Mattheck: Hidden Shape Laws of Nature , Verlag Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, 2006, ISBN 978-3-923704-53-8 , also in English
  • Claus Mattheck: Why everything breaks - Form and failure in nature and technology , Verlag Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, 2003, ISBN 3-9237-0441-0 , translated into English and Japanese
  • Claus Mattheck: Mechanik am Baum , Verlag Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, 2002, ISBN 3-923704-39-9 , translated into English, Italian and Japanese.
  • K. Weber, C. Mattheck: Taschenbuch der Holzfäulen im Baum , Verlag Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, 2001, ISBN 3-923704-28-3
  • D. Dujesiefken, P. Kockerbeck: Yearbook of tree care , several volumes, is published by Thalacker-Verlag
  • Claus Mattheck: The tree as an autobiography. Introduction to the mechanics of trees and their body language , 2nd edition, Thalacker-Verlag, Braunschweig 1992, ISBN 3-87815-050-4
  • Claus Mattheck et al .: The Body Language of Trees - Encyclopedia of the Visual Tree Assessment Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) - North Campus, Karlsruhe 2014 ISBN 978-3-923704-86-6

Web links