Introduction & Outcomes

This final section of Module IV presents an important contributing field to urban forestry, namely arboriculture. Building on a long history of tree care in cities, arboriculture has become a science and an art that aims to promote tree health, vitality, and functionality. Arborists are those professionals carrying out tree care for a municipality, a private company, or other organisation.

In this section you will learn about some of the key aspects of arboriculture, such as tree establishment, tree maintenance, and dealing with pests and diseases. You will also see that there is a wealth of sources and knowledge on good tree care, although sometimes expert opinions on the best methods can differ.

At the end of this section you should be able to:

• Describe what the field of ‘arboriculture’ encompasses and discuss its role within urban forestry.
• Discuss key components of arboriculture and their importance to healthy and safe urban trees.
• Define some of the key terms and concepts used in arboriculture.

Readings and Discussion Questions (For certificate learning only)

There are several readings for this part of Module 4. The book chapter by Brian Kane (2017) provides an excellent overview of pruning, a key component of arboriculture. Tom Smiley and colleagues (2017) discuss the important field of tree risk assessment. If you are interested in the maintenance and conservation of ancient trees, the additional reading includes a chapter by Neville Fay and Jill Butler (2017).

Lecture Recordings

It’s now time to view the brief lecture on arboriculture by Cecil Konijnendijk. Arboriculture is an entire profession and field of its own, so this introduction is only brief. There are many good books and other sources on arboriculture and its different aspects, so there is much more information available in case you want to learn more.

Mini-lecture Video

• 4.3 Arboriculture

FODE012_4.3_Arboriculture.pptx Download FODE012_4.3_Arboriculture.pptx

Post-lecture Mini Quiz (For certificate learning only)

Now it’s time for you to complete an online, multiple choice topic quiz after finishing viewing each lecture for this topic. The main purpose of the quiz is to examine how well you grasp the contents for this topic. The quiz will be open-book, covering contents of the lecture(s) for the topic. You will have 5 mins to complete the quiz. Two attempts are allowed and higher mark will be saved for your grade. There will be 13 online topic quizzes throughout the course with 4-5 questions per quiz, each worth 4-5 points that collectively count for 10% towards the final grade.

When you are ready, click the link Mini Quiz 4.3 or go to left menu > Quizzes > Mini Quiz 4.3 to start taking the quiz.

Topic Summary

This final section of Module IV we have introduced arboriculture, which is a crucial component of urban forest management. Arboriculture focuses on the establishment and care of individual trees, and over the years the knowledge and practices that support arboriculture have developed rapidly. Urban forestry starts at the level of the individual urban tree – and the different relations people have with it.

Topic Self-review (For self learning)

To review what you have learned in the topic, you are encouraged to use the following reflection questions as a study guide to do a self-review for the topic.

• Do you know who manages and maintains the trees in your street or neighbourhood? Can you see signs of arboricultural practices?
• How would the urban forest in your neighbourhood or city be affected if proper arboricultural practices would be absent? What would be the consequences for you and other citizens?
• Have you seen changes in arboricultural practices over time? Please explain.

Graded Assignment(s) for the Week (For certificate learning only)

TBD.