Poster Sessions Concurrent Sessions Conference Proceedings Oak Symposium Home This paper was not included in the Symposium Proceedings.	Pre-Symposium Abstract of Paper Characterizing Structural Failures in Oaks: An Overview of Failure Types and Contributing Factors L.R. Costello and K.S. Jones University of California Cooperative Extension, San Mateo and San Francisco Counties Each Year in California, many oaks fail structurally, i.e., they uproot or the trunk and/or branches break. For trees in urban areas, some of these failures have resulted in fatalities. It is important that tree managers understand failure patterns in oaks in order to accurately assess the structural condition of standing trees. This paper will describe failure patterns for three California oak species: Q. Agrifolia, Q. lobata, and Q. kelloggii. Data collected by the California Tree Failure Report Program (CTFRP) will be used to quantitatively assess types of failures and factors contributing to failures for each of the species. The CTFRP database contains detailed information for over 500 oak failures throughout California, including failure type, size of the failed part, structural defects associated with the failure, weather conditions at the time of failure, and site conditions. Oak managers will be able to use the information presented to better understand oak failure patterns and thus develop more accurate assessments of the structural conditions of their trees.
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