News
13th July 2010 :: ITS is Trust Mark registered
ITS are the first Tree Consultancy firm in Scotland (and one of the first in the UK) to be accepted by the government endorsed "Trust Mark" and Tree Care Approved Schemes. Another assurance that ITS provided the very highest standards in customer care. See our links page for the Trust Mark and Tree Care Approved web-sites. Regards, Chris.
21st June 2010 :: 2010 PRICE FREEZE!
Despite increased registration and assessment fees (both Lantra and NPTC have recently increased their charges) plus soaring fuel costs - ITS are delighted to announce a prize freeze on all courses provided. ITS remain commited to delivering quality training that is affordable and sympathetic to the candidates' needs.
21st June 2010 :: HSE Investigate Chain Brushcutter Attachment
HSE have forwarded the following, "We are currently investigating a very serious incident that has occurred during vegetation clearance operations.
At this stage we do not know what caused the incident but it has come to our attention that brush cutter heads are available on the market that are fitted with chains to improve and speed up the cutting action. Examples are shown in the pictures above.
While this type of device may not have anything to do with the incident, we are taking a precautionary approach.
Don’t Walk By – Take Action Now!
The following action must be taken :
•
with immediate effect and until further notice this type of attachment must not be used on any Carillion site . This includes both Carillion operations and operations undertaken by our supply chain.
•
Wherever strimming or brush cutting operations are undertaken a check must be made to ensure that this type of attachment is not used. If you discover any such devices in use please ensure that they are removed from site and notify your IMS department.
•
Ensure that all contractors who undertake such work are immediately informed of this decision."
At this stage we do not know what caused the incident but it has come to our attention that brush cutter heads are available on the market that are fitted with chains to improve and speed up the cutting action. Examples are shown in the pictures above.
While this type of device may not have anything to do with the incident, we are taking a precautionary approach.
Don’t Walk By – Take Action Now!
The following action must be taken :
•
with immediate effect and until further notice this type of attachment must not be used on any Carillion site . This includes both Carillion operations and operations undertaken by our supply chain.
•
Wherever strimming or brush cutting operations are undertaken a check must be made to ensure that this type of attachment is not used. If you discover any such devices in use please ensure that they are removed from site and notify your IMS department.
•
Ensure that all contractors who undertake such work are immediately informed of this decision."
9th November 2009 :: 2010 Training Programme
ITS are delighted to bring you a new programme of exciting arboricultural training. We think there is a good spectrum of courses, but if you have any questions or specific needs please don't hesitate to contact us.
20th August 2009 :: Pathogenicity of wood decay fungi
The growing mergence of ecology and arboriculture (arbor-ecology) is a welcome development. Arbor-ecology rightly emphasises the importance of late mature trees as valuable wildlife habitat. An industry-wide understanding of a mature tree’s ability to optimise its structure to cope with decay is undoubtedly going to ensure more late mature trees will be retained rather than needlessly condemned. Good riddance to the ‘if in doubt, get it out’ mentality?
Well, unfortunately that is unlikely to be the case. Based on conversations with other surveyors, it is clear to me that two distinct camps are emerging in our industry. In Central Scotland a significant proportion of ‘hazardous’ tree reports have been, and are still being, submitted by professionals with no arboricultural qualifications. The obvious consequence of commissioning someone who isn’t abreast of tree–fungi relationships is that (erring on the side of caution) low-risk trees will be condemned. To be blunt, the ‘if in doubt ...’ mentality is still strong.
But just as significant is the growing weight being placed on tree retention. A section of the arboricultural industry is determined to tackle the ‘if in doubt’ surveyors by presenting a polar mentality. My growing awareness of this new trend was triggered by two recent mature tree management courses where attendees were informed it was incorrect to refer to Meripilus giganteus (giant polypore) or Armillaria mellea (honey fungus) as pathogens (to trees).
Is this a step too far? Let’s look at the facts. A pathogen is simply ‘a thing that causes disease’ (Collins English Dictionary) or a disease-producing agent. A disease is an impairment of health caused by biotic and/or abiotic factors/agents. So, the pivotal issue has to be: can A. mellea or M. giganteus cause an impairment of the tree’s normal physiological processes? They are surely parasitic in nature – they obtain nourishment from the tree host – but do they lead to its decline?
‘Honey fungus ... is a among the most important of tree pathogens’ (Butin 95)
‘In cases where trees ... have been killed ... it is likely that one of its more pathogenic forms, A. mellea ... is involved’ (Lonsdale 99)
‘The Giant Polypore ... seems to grow predominantly as a saprotroph ... while also extending into the live bark as a parasite’ (Butin 95)
Most of us would take little convincing that a decayed tree can indeed become less likely to suffer from catastrophic storm damage – lower crown, less wind resistance, favourable height-to-diameter ratio – due to the activities of fungal parasites or saprobes (Schmidt 06). However, these are incidental benefits that cannot consistently be relied upon to occur. Therefore the relationship between wood decay fungi and tree cannot be classed as mutually beneficial (often referred to as symbiotic). What we do know is that A. mellea will cause vascular (xylem) dysfunction and degrade cellulose causing a ductile fracture of the roots and lower bole. M. giganteus will cause a soft rot then white rot of the structural roots. Both are associated with wind throw. If a decay organism degrades the wood structure to the point where fracture occurs and the tree falls, is that outcome the effect of a disease? Are the physiological processes impaired? If they are, then the tree is diseased and the causal agent is a pathogen.
Perhaps some feel that to use terms like pathogen and disease will alarm tree owners and those responsible for their maintenance, so initiating unnecessary tree removal. But this justification is indefensible. An objective professional arborist must refer to a pathogen as a pathogen, a saprobe as a saprobe, and base their recommendations on current, referenced literature.
Forget about the legal concepts of liability, duty of care, negligence. When making judgements on tree retention, we have a moral responsibility to all those that may be affected by our decisions to be objective at all times. I include the tree and the wildlife it supports in that equation.
It is wholly inappropriate to condemn trees ‘if in doubt’, but equally it is incorrect to overemphasise the ability of trees to compensate for overloading resulting from decay and to mislead, intentionally or unintentionally, by avoiding the use of the term ‘pathogen’.
Chris Simpson
Well, unfortunately that is unlikely to be the case. Based on conversations with other surveyors, it is clear to me that two distinct camps are emerging in our industry. In Central Scotland a significant proportion of ‘hazardous’ tree reports have been, and are still being, submitted by professionals with no arboricultural qualifications. The obvious consequence of commissioning someone who isn’t abreast of tree–fungi relationships is that (erring on the side of caution) low-risk trees will be condemned. To be blunt, the ‘if in doubt ...’ mentality is still strong.
But just as significant is the growing weight being placed on tree retention. A section of the arboricultural industry is determined to tackle the ‘if in doubt’ surveyors by presenting a polar mentality. My growing awareness of this new trend was triggered by two recent mature tree management courses where attendees were informed it was incorrect to refer to Meripilus giganteus (giant polypore) or Armillaria mellea (honey fungus) as pathogens (to trees).
Is this a step too far? Let’s look at the facts. A pathogen is simply ‘a thing that causes disease’ (Collins English Dictionary) or a disease-producing agent. A disease is an impairment of health caused by biotic and/or abiotic factors/agents. So, the pivotal issue has to be: can A. mellea or M. giganteus cause an impairment of the tree’s normal physiological processes? They are surely parasitic in nature – they obtain nourishment from the tree host – but do they lead to its decline?
‘Honey fungus ... is a among the most important of tree pathogens’ (Butin 95)
‘In cases where trees ... have been killed ... it is likely that one of its more pathogenic forms, A. mellea ... is involved’ (Lonsdale 99)
‘The Giant Polypore ... seems to grow predominantly as a saprotroph ... while also extending into the live bark as a parasite’ (Butin 95)
Most of us would take little convincing that a decayed tree can indeed become less likely to suffer from catastrophic storm damage – lower crown, less wind resistance, favourable height-to-diameter ratio – due to the activities of fungal parasites or saprobes (Schmidt 06). However, these are incidental benefits that cannot consistently be relied upon to occur. Therefore the relationship between wood decay fungi and tree cannot be classed as mutually beneficial (often referred to as symbiotic). What we do know is that A. mellea will cause vascular (xylem) dysfunction and degrade cellulose causing a ductile fracture of the roots and lower bole. M. giganteus will cause a soft rot then white rot of the structural roots. Both are associated with wind throw. If a decay organism degrades the wood structure to the point where fracture occurs and the tree falls, is that outcome the effect of a disease? Are the physiological processes impaired? If they are, then the tree is diseased and the causal agent is a pathogen.
Perhaps some feel that to use terms like pathogen and disease will alarm tree owners and those responsible for their maintenance, so initiating unnecessary tree removal. But this justification is indefensible. An objective professional arborist must refer to a pathogen as a pathogen, a saprobe as a saprobe, and base their recommendations on current, referenced literature.
Forget about the legal concepts of liability, duty of care, negligence. When making judgements on tree retention, we have a moral responsibility to all those that may be affected by our decisions to be objective at all times. I include the tree and the wildlife it supports in that equation.
It is wholly inappropriate to condemn trees ‘if in doubt’, but equally it is incorrect to overemphasise the ability of trees to compensate for overloading resulting from decay and to mislead, intentionally or unintentionally, by avoiding the use of the term ‘pathogen’.
Chris Simpson
17th August 2009 :: Chainsaw Units Reviewed by NPTC
The existing suite of CS (Chainsaw) competency certificates are being replaced later this year. Planned date for implementation of the new units is 31st November 2009.
ITS have kept fully abreast with the changes in criteria and are well placed to provide relevant courses that aid candidates to successfully complete the NPTC test.
ITS have kept fully abreast with the changes in criteria and are well placed to provide relevant courses that aid candidates to successfully complete the NPTC test.
22nd May 2009 :: VAT Registration
ITS is now VAT registered and so obliged to charge you VAT on top of the prices quoted on these pages. For those of you that aren't VAT registered, give us a call and we may be able to reduce the orginal price (to make the quoted price the final amount).
Kindest Regards, Chris Simpson.
Kindest Regards, Chris Simpson.
