Xylology Arboricultural Consultancy

When a tree dispute reaches the Land and Environment Court, the arborist giving evidence has an overriding duty to assist the court impartially on matters within their expertise. Xylology Pty Ltd provides that expert witness representation and prepares the statements and reports that go with it. It is one part of a consultancy covering tree management on public and private land, for government, institutional, commercial and residential clients.

Every consultant here holds a Diploma level qualification in Arboriculture under the Australian Qualification Framework at Level 5, with a minimum of ten years in the industry behind it and a standing commitment to keeping that knowledge current. For risk work our staff are trained in the International Society of Arboriculture Tree Risk Assessment Qualification and in Quantified Tree Risk Assessment, so a hazard and risk assessment from us is a methodology applied, not an opinion offered.

On a development, the sequence starts with a Preliminary Tree Assessment once the site surveys are done: trees numbered, assessed and given a retention value, so the layout can be guided by the arboricultural data before the Development Application is lodged. Once the final layout is settled we prepare the Arboricultural Impact Assessment, which identifies what comes out, what stays and what can be transplanted, and recommends the measures needed to protect retained trees through demolition and construction. The Tree Protection Plan then draws the Tree Protection Zones and the specifications, and becomes part of the development plans and the construction documentation. All of it is prepared in line with AS4970-2009 and the relevant planning policies, and our project arborists stay with the job through consultation with designers, monitoring and certification.

Tree surveys, audits and mapping can be one-off or run on a cycle, and they are often what a liability requirement is actually asking for: tree risk, condition, ongoing maintenance and planting opportunities, collected properly. We locate trees spatially to survey level accuracy and hand the results back as reports, maps and data in Esri File Geodatabase, Shapefile, KML or Excel, whichever format your asset system takes. Not every defect can be read from the ground, or from outside the trunk, so where it is warranted we arrange an aerial assessment or an advanced assessment using sonic tomography. For root location and mapping we advise on air spade, hydrovac, hand excavation or ground penetrating radar, point you to the operator with the right gear, and write the findings up for council or for court.

We also specialise in pest and disease identification and diagnosis, working through site conditions, previous management and the symptoms of stress, with lab analysis where it is called for, to establish what is genuinely behind a tree's decline. Tree health and management reports come out of the same assessment: what the tree needs, what the site is doing to it, and what to do next. Where a monetary figure is required, we prepare tree valuations for bonds, compensation in litigation, contract inclusions and asset valuation management plans.

We work from Church Point, with further offices at Cronulla and on the Northern Beaches, servicing the Sydney region, and we take on interstate and territory work where a project calls for it. Call or email with your project requirements and we will tell you which report you need and what it will take to produce it.