Sure Gary.
Actually, the clay soil does not cause rooting issues for most trees in most situations. They've survived in this region for millenia without our assistance. We may make it a little more difficult in areas where we just pile clay on top of clay, like in new developments, but trees are amazing things.
Most of a tree's roots are in the top 6 to 12 inches of soil. People erroneously think that all trees have a 'tap root' that extends far down into the earth to reach ground water. In actuality, most trees lose their tap roots once they start to mature. There is far more moisture in the soil "horizons" near the surface, and most tap roots are stymied by bedrock and other inhospitable soil conditions, and they either stop growing, or turn and travel horizontally. Trees get the moisture they need with the small, fibrous roots near the surface. Those roots can actually travel out as far as 2 to 3 times the area past the canopy. It's a little more challenging in a close knit community like ours, because they're surrounded by brick, concrete, and asphalt. But, you can't stop trees!
Almost all of the recent tree failures we saw was due to the saturation of the soil from the rain, which reduced the resistance against the larger supporting structural roots. Just imagine a root in oatmeal. It was about the same. The roots simply pulled right through the slurry that was once nice, compacted soil. Clay soils have smaller particles, and they hold more water than sandy soils. All that slow draining water made the trees vulnerable to toppling. As long as the trunk "flare" looks healthy (no cracks, or fungus growing on it, no cutting of structural roots), the structural roots should be able to hold up against all but the most violent of storms. We have thousands of survivors as evidence of that.
Our recent tree problems had more to do with the rain than anything. We've had lots of wind before, and far less damage.
I do not think that we have anything to worry about (more than usual, anyway!) with our big trees. They've been standing far longer than most of us.
I'm not the official "spokesperson", nor am I lobbying for that, but since I'm a regular here on "The Deck", and there has been some curiosity about the task force, I just wanted to fill you in.
