Crown Density and its Correlation to Girdling Root Syndrome    (View PDF)

Robert P. d'Ambrosio

Abstract: In 1983, 832 roadside trees, 690 Norway maples (Acer platanoides) and 142 sugar maples (A. saccharum) approximately 30 years old were surveyed in Eastchester and New Rochelle, N.Y. using 42 different entries per tree. Forty eight percent of these trees (400) did not exhibit any of the presently believed causes of girdling root syndrome (GRS), namely; planted too deeply or on raised grades, container grown or in restricted growing spaces. These trees were classified as atypical and divided into two groups; atypical with GRS 86% (343) trees and atypical without GRS 14% (57 trees). The 57 trees that had no GRS had four times the number of old wound-closure scars on their trunks and higher crowns. The results of this study suggest that early and periodical pruning of lower branches should be considered as a cultural control of GRS.

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https://doi.org/10.48044/jauf.1990.037