One careless act by workers could have unseen consequences.
A concerned Redditor sought advice from r/arborists after workers poured concrete over tree roots.
They wrote, "[The] building next door paved over the tree over the weekend. Are they allowed to do this? Wouldn't this kill the tree?"
While the image has since been removed, the Redditor describes a slurry of concrete poured around the base of a tree along the sidewalk in New York.
Trees are protected by laws and regulations. In New York, where this occurred, "ordinances require the protection of trees during development, their replacement due to deliberate damage, and fines for destructive acts," per the International Society of Arboriculture.
If the tree is killed by the concrete, the workers could be in a lot of financial trouble, depending on the age, size, and species of the tree.
One tree makes a big difference. Using 8BillionTrees' tree value calculator, one medium 10-year-old tree:
Produces 12,000 pounds of oxygen
• Allows nearly 6,000 people to breathe for a day
• Soaks up 2,000 pounds of carbon, and
• Evaporates nearly 1,200 gallons of water, which "has the cooling effect of 5 air conditioners working for 200 hours."
Beyond the legal issues, losing the tree also means losing its environmental benefits.
Commenters were disappointed with the contractor's work.
"Looks like the contractors were being lazy and didn't want to take the time to haul away a bit of extra mixed concrete so they dumped it around the tree," one user said.
Another user suggested legal action, commenting, "I would actually contact the authorities there. Whomever did the contract work will be fined and have to pay for the removal of it as well as suffering tree damage as a result. A professional contractor should and would never do such a [thing]."
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