Managing Risk in the Urban Forest - Part 3: Risk in the Urban Forest

The goal of tree risk assessment is to increase safety by abating structural defects before the tree fails and causes damage. Trees cannot be maintained free of risk because not all conditions that lead to failure can be observed and all factors that cause failure cannot be controlled. 

This article is third in a series of four on the topic of risk management.  It addresses rating tree risk, adapting risk rating systems, and tree risk reduction.