Who is an arborist

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What is an arborist?

According to Wikipedia: An arborist, or arboriculturist, is a professional in the practice of arboriculture, which is the cultivation, management, and study of individual trees, shrubs, vines, and other perennial woody plants. Arborists are also known as ‘Tree Surgeons’. Arborists generally focus on the health and safety of individual plants and trees, rather than managing forests (the domains of forestry and silviculture) or harvesting wood. An arborist’s scope of work is therefore distinct from that of either a forester or a logger, though they are similar.

Arborist qualifications

Arborists gain qualifications to practice arboriculture in a variety of ways and some arborists are more qualified than others. Experience in working safely and effectively in and around trees is essential.

Arborists tend to specialise in one or more disciplines of arboriculture, such as diagnosis and treatment, climbing and pruning, cabling and lightning protection, or perhaps consultation and report writing.

Many arborists choose to pursue formal certification, which is available in some countries and varies somewhat by location. An arborist who holds certification in one or more disciplines may be expected to participate in rigorous continuing education requirements to ensure continuous improvement of skills and techniques.

Here in Australia, arboricultural education and training are streamlined countrywide through a multi-disciplinary vocational education, training, and qualification authority called the Australian Qualifications Framework, which offers varying levels of professional qualification.

For your peace of mind, Trees Palms & Stumps employs only qualified arborists, so don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Scope of work

To work near power wires, either additional training is required for arborists or they need to be certified line clearance trimmers or utility arborists (there may be different terminology for various countries). There is a variety of minimum distances that must be kept from power wires depending on voltage; however the common distance for low voltage lines in urban settings is 10 feet (about 3 metres). Arborists who climb can use a variety of techniques to ascend into the tree. The least invasive and most popular technique used is to ascend on rope.

When personal safety is an issue, or the tree is being removed, arborists may use ‘spikes’ attached to their chainsaw boots with straps to ascend and work. Spikes wound the tree, leaving small holes where each step has been. An arborist’s work may involve very large and complex trees, or ecological communities and their abiotic components in the context of the landscape ecosystem. These may require monitoring and treatment to ensure they are healthy, safe, and suitable to property owners or community standards. This work may include some or all of the following:

Planting and transplanting
Pruning
Structural support
Preventing, or diagnosing and treating phytopathology or parasitism
Preventing or interrupting grazing or predation
Installing lightning protection
Removing vegetation deemed as hazardous such as an invasive species, a disease vector, or a weed
Arborists may also plan, consult, write reports and give legal testimony

While some aspects of this work are done on the ground or in an office, much of it is done by arborists who climb the trees with ropes, harnesses and other equipment. Lifts and cranes may be used too.

The work of all arborists is not the same. Some may just provide a consulting service and others may perform climbing, pruning and planting, whilst others may provide a combination of all of these services.

Call our expert arborists in Brisbane now on

07 3390 1124 or 0409 621 863

Who is an arborist

Your tree specialists in Brisbane
Call now 07 3390 1124 or 0409 621 863

What is an arborist?

Arborist qualifications

For your peace of mind, Trees Palms & Stumps employs only qualified arborists, so don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Scope of work

Call our expert arborists in Brisbane now on

Trees, Palms & Stumps

Areas We Service

Who is an arborist

Your tree specialists in BrisbaneCall now 07 3390 1124 or 0409 621 863

For your peace of mind, Trees Palms & Stumps employs only qualified arborists, so don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Scope of work

Call our expert arborists in Brisbane now on

Trees, Palms & Stumps

Areas We Service

Your tree specialists in Brisbane
Call now 07 3390 1124 or 0409 621 863