25
March/April 2019
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THE DAVEY BULLETIN
PLANNING FOR PIN OAKS
Jacob McMains, project manager, Davey Resource Group,
helped his alma mater the University of Missouri-Columbia
do a tree risk assessment on the 20 pin oak trees that adorn
its iconic David R. Francis Quadrangle.
There were several branch failures in the trees' canopies
around graduation weekend of 2018. No one was hurt, and
the failures happened after hours. But with the high traffic
volumes on the quad during graduation, the university
sought to mitigate any future potential risks by determining
the health and conditions of these trees.
Based on his assessment, McMains found that the roughly
70-year-old pin oak trees were nearing the end of their
lifespan. The trees have dealt with several stressors, such
as nearby campus construction, soil impaction from student
traffic, excess moisture at the base of the trees and many
other factors.
"The assessment told the story of what we were seeing in
these trees and why they were declining," McMains said.
EXPERTISE
The university used McMains' findings to prioritize which
trees they wanted to remove, which trees they wanted to
prune to improve vigor, and calculate a realistic lifespan for
this grove of pin oaks on the quad.
The university determined the best course of action was to
remove five of the pin oaks, but eventually all the trees will
need to be replaced. The university is looking to replace the
trees with native trees in the white oak species.
"Aesthetically, it will be a shock to have the trees absent
at the location," McMains said. "But they have a plan to
replant the trees and they will be of a certain class size.
The university is doing a great job about being proactive."
The pin oak trees that line the perimeter of the quad were planted
roughly 70 years ago by a landscape staff member who decided to plant
the 20 trees in this location. The quad is a focal point for the campus
architecturally and holds a great deal of the campus' history.
