Glossary — Fundamentals
What is a
Tree Survey?
A tree survey is a systematic, on-site record of the trees on a property — species, size, condition, and location, usually tied to a site plan so each tree can be found again. "Tree survey" covers several distinct deliverables that get commissioned for different reasons, and the term alone doesn't tell you which one is needed.
The four main types
Inventory — a straightforward asset register: every tree, its species, size, and location, without a specific risk or planning angle. Used for insurance records, campus or estate asset management, and municipal tree-count programs.
BS5837 survey (UK) — a pre-development survey to the BS5837:2012 standard, adding stem diameter, preservation category (A/B/C/U), and root protection area to the base inventory, feeding directly into a planning application.
Risk or hazard assessment — a targeted inspection of specific trees for failure risk, usually following a TRAQ-style method (failure likelihood × consequence), commissioned after a concern is raised or on a routine liability-management cycle.
Condition survey — an assessment focused on health and structural condition rather than risk or planning constraints, often used for maintenance planning (which trees need pruning, treatment, or removal this season).
Who commissions each type
A developer or their planning consultant commissions a BS5837 survey ahead of a planning application. A local council or urban forester commissions an inventory, usually recurring, to support budget requests and storm response. A homeowner, landlord, or their insurer commissions a risk assessment after a specific concern — a leaning tree, a neighbor's complaint, a claim. A campus or estate manager commissions an inventory for insurance and sustainability reporting, often as a one-off that then needs periodic updating. The same property can end up needing more than one type over its life — a BS5837 survey for a planning application doesn't replace an ongoing risk-assessment cycle once the development is built and occupied.
Related terms
Running any of these in the field
Whichever type you're running, the field mechanics are largely the same: walk the site, mark each tree's location, record its data, photograph it. See the tree inventory guide for the full field workflow, or how LogLog handles the site plan — drop numbered pins directly on the client's own PDF, rather than redrawing the site from scratch in a generic map tool.
Whichever survey type you're running, LogLog keeps the plan, the data, and the photos in one place, ready to export the day you walk the site.
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