Modern Subdivisions Will Lack Tall Trees For 100 Years

Suburban subdivisions are built with massive land moving equipment that strips off topsoil and compacts ground as terrain is graded and leveled. After construction is finished, some of the topsoil is replaced, but also compacted as a result of the construction. These are not the conditions a tree needs to grow properly.

"In order to grow, the roots of trees need soil that contains a lot of oxygen and free space, not just water and nutrients. They also need room -- or rather, a special kind of room. The roots don't go very deep, with most of them in the top 60 cm or so. So they try to spread out as far on all sides as the tree is tall."

So, it may take more than a century before a subdivision will have the kind of trees that line some of our older communities, that were built using methods that were not as damaging to the land.