To contribute to urban disaster prevention and ensure public safety, this study aimed to evaluate the risk of failure in street trees by conducting Tree Risk Assessments (TRA) and implementing preventive management measures. A total of 6,231 street tr...
To contribute to urban disaster prevention and ensure public safety, this study aimed to evaluate the risk of failure in street trees by conducting Tree Risk Assessments (TRA) and implementing preventive management measures. A total of 6,231 street trees representing 6 species in urban areas(Incheon Metropolitan City and Suwon City) and 553 street trees representing 8 species in green spaces (Chonnam National University campus, Gwangju) were assessed.
Results indicated that Slenderness Ratios exhibited similar patterns between urban and green-space street trees, whereas Live Crown Ratio(LCR) was lower in urban street trees, which was attributed to differences in pruning methods and intensities. Stem leaning was greater in green-space trees, likely reflecting the effect of tree age. Preliminary assessments, based on Visual Tree Assessment(VTA) and Basic Assessment(BA) of various defect indicators, showed that approximately 80% of all trees were classified as “safe,” while the proportion of “significant risk” trees was 4.9% in Incheon, 10.1% in Suwon, and 13.0% in green-space trees. These results suggest that site conditions, management practices, and species characteristics exert stronger effects than tree type alone. In the Advanced Assessment(AA), diagnostic outcomes from Sonic Tomography(SoT) and resistance drilling(Resistograph) were statistically compared with basic assessment variables. Structural defect indicators such as decay, cavities, fruiting bodies, and codominant stems exhibited stronger correlations with instrument data than vitality-related factors, with “tree vitality” emerging as the most powerful predictor(|ρ| > 0.45). Both SoT and Resistograph variables showed negative correlations with vitality and DBH, and positive correlations with decay, dead branches, cavities, and preliminary risk ratings. The SoT and Resistograph results themselves were strongly correlated(ρ=0.789, p<0.001), demonstrating consistency between subjective assessor judgments and objective diagnostic tools. Multiple regression analysis confirmed vitality as the strongest predictor in both models(β=–0.423 for SoT; β=–0.445 for Resistograph), indicating that external vitality closely reflects internal structural stability. Final risk ratings after AA revealed that the majority of trees fell into low-risk categories(96.2% in Incheon, 92.5% in Suwon, and 92.2% in green spaces), with relatively small proportions in higher risk categories(3.8%, 7.6%, and 7.8%, respectively). These findings highlight that tree risk is more strongly influenced by growth environments than by tree type. The study further identifies limitations in the current TRA process in
Korea and proposes improvements to evaluation procedures, indicators, and management strategies for hazardous trees. These findings are expected to
contribute to the refinement and practical effectiveness of a street-tree risk assessment system for urban disaster prevention.