Research Note: Establishing a Common Method to Compare Soil Systems Designed for Both Tree Growth and Pavement Support

摘要

Establishing and managing trees under urban conditions provide a lesson in opposing needs within limited spaces. In the same soil volume, there are competing requirements for pavement support versus biological carrying capacity. Media to support both pavements and tree growth have been used for decades. However, with several media designs being advanced and discussed, there is limited research testing to inform mix design when new component sources are considered, or when comparing different components and mixtures. Designed media need to perform an engineering function immediately, but trees require time for growth to reach the designed service size. Therefore, there is a need to understand fundamental trends prior to waiting decades for tree performance evaluation. A common evaluation rubric needs to be developed in order to compare successful and unsuccessful systems and to better target mix designs of locally available materials. The media discussed in this article is a group that establishes an aggregate skeletal matrix for load bearing with an added horticultural component for tree root growth within the matrix.