An assessment of management history of damaged and undamaged trees 8 years after the ice storm in Rochester, New York, U.S

Abstract

Eight years of post-storm tree maintenance records from Rochester, New York, U.S., were reviewed to evaluate the city's storm-related removal protocol and how maintenance varied by damage classes. Maintenance codes assigned in 1991 were used to identify ice-storm damage classes based on percentage of crown loss. We evaluated seven species-Norway maple (Acer platanoides), silver maple (A. saccharinum), sugar maple (A. saccharum), green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica), honeylocust (Gleditsia triacanthos), London planetree (Platanus x acerifolia), and littleleaf linden (Tilia cordata)-to assess species responses to maintenance protocols. Trees with 75% or more crown loss and undamaged trees required the least amount of maintenance, additional management, and on-site re-evaluation. In contrast, trees with 50% to 75% crown loss required the most maintenance, were the greatest percentage of trees requiring additional maintenance, and were the most revisited. Of the selected species analyzed, silver maple and honeylocust required the most maintenance, whereas sugar maple, green ash, and littleleaf linden required the least. Across all damage classes and species, maintenance requirements increased with tree diameter at breast height regardless of the percentage of crown loss or species.