Demystifying Tree Forks: Vices and Virtues of Forks in Arboriculture

Abstract

Concluding that all tree forks are structural defects and that they are inherently weak regardless of their specific nature, reveals a profound lack of understanding of tree development. How many tree forks are considered a hazard within a tree’s structure when they are not? It is only in recent times that interdisciplinary approaches comprising tree architecture, biomechanics and mechanobiology have been considered in arboriculture to embrace a new perspective on this topic. In the present article, we seek to demystify false conclusions lacking scientific rigour on tree forks. We go in depth into the anatomical and architectural nature of this morphological structure according to endogenous or exogenous factors, how it is formed and its function in most broadleaved trees and certain conifers.