Tree Radar UK Ltd-Tree Radar and Arboricultural Consultancy

Tree Radar - Understanding tree roots in the ground beneath your feet

Our Services

Arboricultural Consultancy

Ground penetrating Tree Radar surveys

We carry out all aspects of Arboricultural Consultancy, from tree safety audits, pre-development BS 5837 tree survey, Arboricultural Impact Assessments, tree protection plans and Arboricultural Method Statements. We also carry out site supervision during construction to ensure the continued protection of trees.

Ground penetrating Tree Radar surveys

Survey the roots of trees using TreeRadar without the need for excavations, saving noise, mess and time. We provide full reports into the findings with the plans and offer support into the use of data

Woodland Surveys and Management Plans

Ground penetrating Tree Radar surveys

Woodland Surveys and Management Plans

Want to understand your woodland better, discharge your duty of care as a woodland owner, carry out improvements to your woodland or manage the standing stock? A woodland management plan can help you achieve your varied goals.

About TreeRadar

What it does

Tree Radar is a specialist ground penetrating radar which picks up tree roots without needing to dig up the ground. The results shows the location and depth of live tree roots along scan lines, presented in a series of ‘top down’ views (to scale) and a ‘virtual trench’. The results can then be imported in to CAD if required. As such this can be combined into a design model.

Understanding where the roots are enables sustainable design of foundations, utilities and hard surfacing whilst safely retaining the tree. The root density is also an indication of tree health and stability.

How it works

The TreeRadar unit is a scanning cart with a 400MHz antenna which sends a beam every 1cm down to a depth prescribed by the operator (usually between 2 - 3m, which is the maximum depth). The reflection is recorded in a field computer and then analysed by the latest software, TBA. Water and metal reflect, therefore the machine records live roots which contain moisture, but not dead dried out roots. Using a 400MHz antenna we are able to identify and locate tree roots with a diameter of 20mm and above, just below the diameter of a major structural root as set out in British Standard (BS 5837:2012): Trees in Relation to Design, Demolition and Construction – Recommendations.

We also have 900 MHz antenna which can identify roots with a diameter of 10mm and above, to a depth of approximately 1m in loamy soil.

In both cases the penetration depth increases as the sand content increases, and decreases as the clay content increases. The most difficult soil to penetrate is concrete and very high content wet clay (nearly 100% clay) that is very close to the surface. Lower clay layers, which are common, do not affect signal penetration. The TRU system automatically calibrates for different soil conditions to ensure that the depth is accurate.

Currently the machine and software cannot determine root diameter, other than it being greater than 20mm, due to the lack of correlation between the amounts of live root tissue in a root compared to the thickness of a root. For example, a large root may have a partially desiccated or dysfunctional central core with low moisture content and so give a relatively weak radar return, while a smaller root may be filled with water molecules and give a much stronger return.

As such we predominantly use the 400MHz antennae as this most closely follows the definition of a major structural root and discards smaller roots which are easier for the tree to regrow. It is also less likely to detect roots from dense grasses and nearby woody shrubs.

Further details and videos

For further information on Tree Radar, 'How it works' videos and research papers please visit our associated website http://sharonhosegoodassociates.co.uk/tree-radar/results-and-how-to-read-them/

Some of our clients

Some of our clients for TreeRadar surveys, Arboricultural Consultancy and Woodland Surveys and Management Plans include:

The National Trust

Kier Construction

Islington Council

Haringey Council

The RSPB

Nottingham Trent University

Oxford University

Drayton Manor Resorts

Leeds City Council

Jacobs Engineering UK Limited

Tyler Grange

Treework Environmental Practice

Pentland Homes Ltd

Lewisham Council

Wates Residential

University of Greenwich

City of London Corporation

GreenBlue Urban

Levitt Bernstein

The Image Practice

Stanhope Ltd

Highways England

Tree Radar UK Ltd-Tree Radar and Arboricultural Consultancy

Tree Radar - Understanding tree roots in the ground beneath your feet

Our Services

Arboricultural Consultancy

Ground penetrating Tree Radar surveys

Ground penetrating Tree Radar surveys

Ground penetrating Tree Radar surveys

Ground penetrating Tree Radar surveys

Ground penetrating Tree Radar surveys

Woodland Surveys and Management Plans

Ground penetrating Tree Radar surveys

Woodland Surveys and Management Plans

About TreeRadar

What it does

How it works

Further details and videos

Photo Gallery

Contact Us

Based in the South East, we provide Arboricultural consultancy and TreeRadar services throughout the UK

Tree Radar UK Ltd

Some of our clients