The above photograph was taken during the summer of 2001 after the ground on the south side of the tree was significantly disturbed when a new fence and concrete footer under the fence were installed. Both trees show needle decline and death as a result of damage done to the tree roots as a result of the fence building project. This photograph shows the damage as a spiral effect because spruce trees grow in a spiral.

This photograph was taken in the spring of 2002. The tree on the right is showing increased decline and death on those branches affected by the root damage. The tree on the left does not show the needle damage that was present the year before. Perhaps in some cases a tree can recover from slight root damage.

This photograph was taken in the summer of 2004. Note the tree that previously exhibited spiral damage due to root injury has been removed.

Notes about the cameras used:

The 2001 picture was taken using a point and shoot 35 mm print film (not digital). The photograph was scanned into the computer using a 2400 dpi scanner. That explains why pixels are present when the picture is enlarged.
The 2002 photograph was taken with a 4 mega pixel Olympus digital camera set on SHQ (super high quality). That explains why the pixels are not obvious.

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