Hi all, I'm new to this forum and hope there's someone out there who is as obsessed with the "underground" world as I am, and can help me out with a design project I'm doing.
I've been trying to find out information on the root dimensions and compositions of trees (preferrably trees belonging to the Carolinian and Boreal forest regions). Could someone point me in the right direction? Have there been any comprehensive books that explore the root structures of trees? Useful websites?
I've found a few images and studies, but what I need is a list of trees, and their respective root dimensions/compositions (how they differ between species, etc). I've really started to notice how there's plenty of information related to tree identification above ground, but hardly anything about what's happening below ground. This needs to change for many reasons - especially if we are to properly green our cities with healthy trees.
<<Maybe I should tell you that my interest in finding out more about the root structure of trees stemmed from trying to do a section through my building/landscape intervention for studio - now my entire project has expanded to be more about the root structure of trees and how I might manipulate my design intervention to actually reflect, represent or respond to the root structure of the trees that inhabit the building... >>
I'm not an arborist, and I'm somewhat new to the technical world of trees - hey, I grew up north of the treeline in Iqaluit (Baffin Island) where the only "trees" were long stretches of spruce and other species would wind their way along the tundra... so ANY help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Becca

Hi Becca. Try some Google searches. Search on Alexia Stokes, you should hit on the web site for the Ecoslopes project, sponsored by the EU. Tons of references and links there. Search on Ziemer (I think that's the right spelling) and PNW Research Station. That's USDA Forest Service. Lots of info there too. Try more generic searches on "tree roots," "tree root size," "tree root strenght" and similar strings.

Good luck.

SC