TREENET - Pilot study of street tree planting in South Australia (NY00042)

This is a final research report from Hort Innovation’s historical archives. Please note that as these reports may date back as far as the 1990s, the content and recommendations within them may be superseded by more recent research.

What was it all about?

This pilot study surveyed 5 advanced street tree growers and 33 local governments in SA. The Nursery Industry supplied millions of dollars of street tree stock annually.

The goals of the survey were:

• Assess current perceptions and practices
• To identify customer needs
• To identify street tree performance
• To determine industry and consumer expectations and concerns
• To assess interest in establishing TREENET trial sites

There was broad consensus amongst respondents that the availability of quality information about tree species and their suitability as street trees was one of the most important factors to the success of tree planting programs, along with quality of tree stock and site conditions.

• Customer needed and expectations identified by this pilot Local Government survey would help tree growers in their forward planning to better meet those needs.
• Nurseries would be able to diversify their stock and produce trees which were demonstrated to be successful through TREENET trials, both in the Waite Arboretum and in the urban street environment.
• Involving tree growers in the street trials provided opportunities for growers to influence their consumers, by offering them new species for testing.
• The results of these pilot surveys would be of use not only to the Nursery Industry and Councils, but also to landscape architects, urban planners, tree training providers and arborists.
• Benefits to Local Government would be better information for species selection, better quality of stock, closer liaison with producers, lower maintenance costs, reduced infrastructure damage and less exposure to litigation.