At Bob’s Tree Preservation we pride ourselves on staying on the cutting edge of arboricultural practices.  An air excavator performs the newest addition to our arsenal of tree health care services.  An air excavator is a hand held tool that produces a laser-like stream of air to effectively penetrate and dislodge most types of soil.  This tool is able to excavate the soil around trees without damaging non-porous items like tree roots, buried pipes or cables.  We use this tool to provide a wide variety of services including root collar excavation, soil aeration, vertical mulching, radial trenching, root examinations and soil fracturing for compacted soils.

In southern Louisiana we have to deal with heavy clay soils in our landscape.  These clay particles can form an impenetrable barrier when they become compacted.  Plants are sometimes planted too deep, or settle slightly after they have been planted causing excess soil around the trunk flare or base of the trunk.  This situation combined with the heavy soils is widely known to cause decline, death or premature failure of a tree.  Root excavation in the past was dirty, difficult and time consuming so many times it was overlooked as a health care option.  With the use of the air excavator, the trunk flare can be exposed in a fraction of the time with less effort.  The air that is forced out of the unit enters the pore spaces in the soil and pushes the soil particles themselves out of the way.  All of this happens in an instant due to the concentrated force of the airflow.  The tree roots or pipes are unaffected by the air stream because there are no pore spaces for the air to enter so the airflow is reflected off.  A one time tedious project is now accomplished quickly and safely using the air excavator.

In the tree preservation industry it is often time useful to see how the root system is structured in an aged tree or one compromised by construction.  The air excavator is able to expose roots so they can be analyzed after possible injury or better yet, the roots can be located with the air spade before construction begins.  This would prevent damaging large areas of roots that can kill a tree.  The analysis of the root structure of a tree also in valuable in trees that have girdling roots.  Sometimes too often when trees are planted from container stock, the roots encircle the container.  When these trees are planted in your landscape these roots can circle the trunk and girdle the tree.  If a newly planted tree is suffering in your landscape and you cannot see the trunk flare, you may have either girdling soil or girdling roots.  Using the air excavator can determine the damage and get you on the path to better soil conditions and tree health.  
    There are many ways that the air excavator can be used to protect and preserve trees and also improve the soil environment.  Call Bob’s Tree Preservation today to see how our air excavator services can help you with your soil and tree care needs.