I’m planning on leveling an area of my property, and I have 2 possible spots picked out. But both places border trees and have very large roots at the surface because the trees are mature and a couple are huge. Off the top of my head I think they are oaks and hickories, and range from 2 ft in diameter to almost 4 ft.
I don’t want to cut or kill the trees because I want the shade, plus two of the largest are actually on my neighbors property (dense woods so not their ornamental trees or anything, but still not mine and I don’t want to kill lovely old trees anyway).
The leveling to be done would affect some (?most) of the roots on one side of the trees only, and would start approximately 6 to 8 feet away from the trunk at minimum.
How much will this affect them? Will it kill the trees or make them more susceptible to fungal invasions? Is there a way to mitigate the damage? FWIW, the area to be leveled will be used as a riding ring, so it will be covered in a couple inches of sand, there will still be moisture and air available.
My .02 cents: Old trees are resilient. I’ve had in-ground pools built within 4-8 feet of old oaks, where sizable root systems took a hit. Not much in terms of stress damage to report.
Generally, if you destroy roots, it’s advisable to have a pro crew cut back the crown of the tree. This eases the total, longer-term stress on the tree (cutting is a quick/short stress) and let’s the remaining roots service a crown that is more in scale with the remaining root system’s abilities.
True, I did say arborist. But folks here generally aren’t shy about putting in their 2 cents about anything, whether they are part of a particular profession or not.
Anyway, thanks for your input, that’s good to know!
The surface roots on those trees are mostly for mechanical support. The tree should adapt well to losing them, especially if you cut back the crown some. You’ll give up a little security in wind storms and such.