Except for felling, all tree surgery is concerned with keeping trees healthy, attractive and free from danger to the public. Wherever possible, all cutting is to growth points, keeping the tree in as natural shape as the situation allows. All final pruning is kept within the branch area without exaggerating the wound into another stem.

ATC covers all aspects of tree surgery:

Canopy volume reduction is quoted as a percentage of the total outermost canopy within the small branch and twig area. The aim is to keep the main shape of the tree, from which all new growth will develop. See more...

Tree height reduction is also expressed as a percentage of the total tree height, with a proportional reduction in the crown width. See more...

Progressive crown reduction and thinning is adopted when the tree does not have sufficient energy stored to withstand a large reduction. Undertaking the reduction in several stages allows the tree to recover and send out new shoots below the first cut, enabling the second cut or target cut to have growth already in place for the final cut to help recovery. See more...

Canopy thinning is a balanced removal of branches within the crown. See more...

Topping generally describes the process of reducing the height of a tree and pruning the top lateral branches. It can also involve a substantial reduction of the trunk and branches to lessen the wind stress on the tree. See more...

Pollarding is similar to topping, although generally carried out on young trees to create a particular growth form. See more...

Crown-lifting is the removal of all branches from the trunk up to an agreed height. See more...

Overhang removal is the reduction of excessive ‘reach’ of branches while keeping the silhouette of the tree in balance. See more...

Deadwood removal, as the name suggests, is generally undertaken to remove danger to persons or property. See more...

Dangerous trees can take many forms, the definition of dangerous being when the tree is close to persons, property, livestock or highways. See more...

Clear fell is the cutting down of a whole tree with or without ropes. See more...

Section fell is similar to clear fell except that the tree is dismantled progressively in appropriate lengths, again with or without using ropes. See more...