CARACTERÍSTICAS MORFOMÉTRICAS QUE CONTRIBUEM PARA A DETERMINAÇÃO DO RISCO DE QUEDA DAS ÁRVORES URBANAS

It is important to carry out research aimed at improving risk assessment methodologies for urban trees. The objective of this study was to analyze which are the morphometric characteristics that contribute to the determination of the risk of urban trees falling. Thirty-five large tree individuals were selected to carry out a visual risk analysis on the campus of the Universidade Federal de Viçosa. The methodology applied results in three risk classes: low, medium and high. In addition to the risk analysis, the dendrometric variables necessary to calculate the morphometric indices were also collected in the field: canopy proportion, degree of slimness, salience index, coverage index and formal canopy index. The risk analysis indicated that 68.5% of the trees present high risk, 28.5% medium risk and 3% low risk, however, the correlation analysis between the morphometric characteristics and the risk classification was not statistically significant. The highest coefficient obtained was for the degree of slimness and was the only one to demonstrate a tendency towards gradual average values between risk classes. The degree of slimness, therefore, is the morphometric index that best contributes to the performance of studies aimed at determining the risk of falling.