Red Maples on Aquidneck Ave., suffering from a drastic grade change and soil compaction.
To witness an example of the damage that can result when trees suffer an inappropriate grade change, drive past the field of red maples on the west side of Aquidneck Avenue just south of Green End Avenue…
Trunk buried well above the flare.
Here, water pools around the base of a tree. The grade has been raised around it, with a pit left around the tree trunk, causing sitting water.
Earth has been piled up around the trunks of these trees – in areas, it appears to be possibly two feet or more above normal grade, a drastic change. The result of this recent trauma is already evident – their beautiful crimson fall display ended far too quickly as their leaves dropped earlier than that of other healthy red maples on the island. (The injured trees also include a group of Zelkova planted by the Town of Middletown.)
The red maple, acer rubrum, is a native tree and the State Tree of Rhode Island. Known for its brilliant deep scarlet autumn foliage, it is an important part of Aquidneck Island’s fall landscape. With a shallow root system, the red maple is sensitive to soil compaction and grade change.
Protect the root system up to and beyond the dripline.
While we’re referencing an extreme example, grade-related issues are much more common than you might think: often resulting in the death of a tree, this problem can occur during new tree planting, construction work…and even as a result of overmulching around a tree trunk.
As a general rule of thumb, to keep your trees healthy do not trench, cover up or compact the soil in the tree’s root zone (which extends up to 30 feet or more beyond the outer border of the tree’s canopy, called the ‘dripline’).