It’s Hard to Fix What You Can’t See Making Tree Root Quality Measurable with Ground-Penetrating Radar (1 ISA CEU, 1 LACES PDH)

Tree root quality has long been recognized as one of the most important, yet least measurable, factors influencing the long-term success of urban trees. Throughout the nursery-to-landscape supply chain, critical decisions still rely largely on visual inspection, experience, specifications, and standards because much of the root architecture that may determine a tree’s future remains hidden within the root ball.

This webinar explores a deceptively simple question:

Can hidden root architecture be objectively measured before planting?

Using research conducted through the National Science Foundation SBIR program as a case study, Marie Ambusk and Gordon Mann will examine how tree biology, Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR), engineering, and data science are converging to enable new, non-destructive ways to measure root architecture and assess root quality. Participants will see examples of three-dimensional reconstructions generated from GPR data and consider how objective root-quality information could inform nursery production, specifications, inspection, procurement, planting, and long-term tree management.

The discussion will extend beyond technology to include the shared responsibility for successfully growing trees to maturity. Improving tree outcomes requires researchers, growers, landscape architects, arborists, buyers, technology developers, and standards organizations to work across traditional boundaries.

We didn’t get to this place alone.

We can only fix it together.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:

1. Explain how tree root architecture and root quality can influence tree establishment, long-term performance, and the ability of planted trees to reach maturity.
2. Describe current limitations in assessing root architecture before planting and how emerging non-destructive technologies, including Ground-Penetrating Radar, may provide objective information to support tree inspection, procurement, planting, and management decisions.
3. Identify opportunities for landscape architects, arborists, growers, buyers, researchers, and standards organizations to leverage shared information and quality criteria to improve tree outcomes throughout the nursery-to-landscape supply chain.