CPD Specifier May 2015 issue January 2015 | Page 40

Outdoor Engineering

CU-Structural Tree Soil An innovation in urban tree planting
In the 21st century our urban environments can be considered to be highly
engineered and divorced from nature. Given man’s innate desire, at an
unconscious level, (the Biophilia concept) to reconnect with some element
of the natural world, trees in the urban landscape are more important than
ever.
However, this progression in civil technology has created conditions where
urban trees are more likely to fail. To find a solution to this problem Cornell
University has developed an easy to install, and economically sustainable
structural tree soil - CU Soil™, that is LEED and SuDS compatible.
CU-Structural Tree Soil or CU-Soil™ has been recently made available
in the UK by the urban greening supplier Landtech Soils Ltd, based in
Hertfordshire.
As demonstrated by research in Cornell, CU-Soil™ provides an urban
tree with a rootzone which has been proven to increase their lifespan and
nearly eliminates root heave and pavement cracking (Bassuk, 2007). CUSoil’s™ composition is a mixture of gap-graded crushed stone, clay loam
and a hydrogel stabilizing agent which keeps the mixture from separating.
This material is easily installed and is compacted like conventional tree
planting soils and is ideal for use in space restricted urban spaces.
For street tree planting projects CU-Soil™ provides an integrated root
penetrable, high strength pavement system that shifts design away from
unsustainable individual tree pits which are known to create long term
damage to surface pavement systems through root heave and cracking,
towards a more efficient trench planting design - which optimises the use
of the limited available space.

proven to be a solution that meets the needs of both the Engineering and
Horticulture Specifications and Standards for a successful urban tree
installation.
CU-Soil™ is an excellent solution to urban tree planting, and in the overall
budget, has proved to be less expensive than many of the alternative
options. CU-Soil™ is manufactured using all natural materials and is
100% recyclable.

CU-Soil™ has gone through extensive testing at Cornell University along
with extensive use throughout the US for over fifteen years and it has

LANDTECH SOILS LTD

CIS STREET FURNITURE

TEL: [phone]

TEL: [phone]

WWW.LANDTECHSOILS.CO.UK

WWW.CIS-STREETFURNITURE.CO.UK

READER ENQUIRY NO: 49

READER ENQUIRY NO: 50

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