andrewducker: (Default)
andrewducker ([personal profile] andrewducker) wrote2018-11-01 11:00 am

Interesting Links for 01-11-2018

del: (Default)

Re: Designing houses around trees

[personal profile] del 2018-11-02 01:27 pm (UTC)(link)
One issue that occurs to me is that roots are like animals: they don't photosynthesise, they respire, turning oxygen into CO2. I wouldn't have expected the roots to die of suffocation due to not enough oxygen, but thought sealing the ground around the tree may stop the roots getting rid of CO2, and result in the soil becoming fatally acidic.

However, a quick look at the internet suggests the experts really do identify oxygen and lack of moisture as the two threats to covering tree roots, even from as little as two feet of extra soil above what the tree had grown towards.