The White Rock Ditch company has completed their excavation of the ditch this past week. As the ditch company went past the cottonwood trees located along the ditch banks people have asked me about the tree health along the ditch. Many tree roots have been sheared off with the excavator in order to straighten and remove the silt dams that have built up inside the ditch.
At the risk of oversimplifying it, it is important to note that trees basically have two types of roots. As trees grow they develop woody roots, also called anchor roots, that help stabilize the tree and hold it in place as it grows. Trees also produce fibrous roots,that are used by the tree for water and nutrient uptake. When trees grow close to a ditch, which is the case for many of the cottonwoods here on the BCC property, the ditch acts like a barrier because these woody roots have nothing to anchor into. These large anchor roots will run parallel with the ditch in a manner that is uncommon with how it would grow if there was no barrier at all. The fibrous roots that have been torn will regenerate when the ditch begins to flow again and the trees can once again push out new roots for water uptake. As you walk around many of the open space areas here in Boulder County you can see many areas where ditch companies have done this same procedure. There are many old cottonwoods that are a good example of how a tree can weather the damage because of its access to water. We will be monitoring the cottonwood trees throughout the spring to make sure that none of these trees become major safety concerns.
