The TREE Fund Report

In this edition:

Newsletter Archive

Click on the link for a PDF copy of past newsletters:
April 2009 Download PDF (700KB)
December 2008 Download PDF (3MB)
October 2008 Download PDF (2MB)
April 2008 Download PDF (600KB)
Fall 2007 Download PDF (600KB)

TREE Fund Awards $183,000 in Grants and Scholarships in 2009
Following is a summary of research and educational grants and scholarships awarded by the TREE Fund Board of Trustees in 2009:

TREE Fund Research Fellowship ($100,000)
Dr. Mark S. McClure Research Fellowship Grant
Dr. Brian Kane
University of Massachusetts
“Assessing the Impact of Decay on the Structural Integrity of Trees.”
Dr. Kane is the first recipient of the new TREE Fund Research Fellowship. Funded through the generosity of donors to the Dr. Mark S. McClure Research Fund, his research proposes to measure the breaking strength of shade trees with and without defects and provide an empirical method for predicting the likelihood of failure of a tree with known defects and/or decay.

Hyland R. Johns Grant ($25,000)
Dr. Daniel Herms
Ohio State University
“Survey for tolerance to Emerald Ash Borer within North American ash species.”
Dr. Herms will investigate “lingering” native ash trees in Ohio that appear to display some tolerance or resistance to Emerald Ash Borer (EAB). The genetics and biochemical characteristics of these trees will be compared to the primarily cloned cultivars planted in urban and suburban settings, all of which were wiped out by EAB.

John Z. Duling Grants ($10,000 each)
Edward F. Gilman, Ph.D.
University of Florida
“Effects of container types and root pruning on root quality and tree stability.”
This research seeks solutions to root defects caused by container production by evaluating what root pruning strategy (slicing, shaving, bare rooting, or butterflying) works best.

Dr. Laura G. Jull
University of Wisconsin, Madison
“Controlled Environmental Evaluation of Aerated Compost Tea”
The project aspires to optimize aerated compost tea (ACT) preparation for use in a controlled
environmental greenhouse experiment which will allow control of highly variable environmental factors that naturally occur in the landscape. Varied rates of ACT will be applied to four commercially significant species of trees and shrubs and will be compared to conventional fertilization practices.

Dr. Les P. Werner
University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point
“Changes in solid microbial populations and functioning in managed urban landscapes”
This project will characterize changes in the chemical, physical, and biological properties of soil exposed to the process of urbanization and urban landscape management regimes and will establish critical baseline information that will enhance the arborist’s capacity to manage landscape trees and/or the urban soil that supports these trees.

Arboriculture Education Program Grant ($5,000)
Lynne Marquess/ Maryland Forestry Boards Foundation, Inc.
“2009 Natural Resources Careers Conference”
Thirty-five high school students from Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington, DC attended the week-long Natural Resources Careers Conference, held in July 2009 in Maryland. Participants received extensive classroom and hands-on field experience in forestry, urban forestry, arboriculture, fire suppression, stream ecology and wildlife, and watershed management,
while making valuable contacts with college professors and industry professionals.

Robert Felix Memorial Scholarship ($3,000)
Frank Grano
Penn State University, Mont Alto
Frank completed an associate’s degree in forest technology and is advancing into the study of
urban forestry.

John Wright Scholarship ($2,000)
Christina Walsh
University of Illinois
Christina is studying natural resource ecology and has recently completed a semester working on a research project in a rainforest region of Australia.

PNW Chapter of ISA- Sponsored Grant ($10,000)
Dr. Bonnie Appleton
Virginia Tech University
“Species Phenological Responses to Bare-Root Handling”
This award, funded by PNW Chapter of ISA and administered by the TREE Fund, supports continuation of Dr. Appleton’s research into species-specific responses to bare-root planting, especially in relation to the time of year (phenological growth stage) of bare-root planting.

Asplundh-Sponsored Grant ($8,000)
Dr. Harvey Holt (Prof. Emeritus) Purdue University
“Evaluation of Cut Stump Treatments”
In a project funded by Asplundh, 22 vegetation species of various sizes in five states were cut and treated with one of 4 chemical herbicides known to retard sprouting. Treated stumps were revisited for evaluation a year after herbicide application. Stumps were grouped into 4” diameter classes by species, and the presence or absence of sprouts from the stump or roots was recorded.

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