Treescanbedamagedorkilledbyawidevarietyofconstructionactivities.Somepracticesleadtoobviousinjuriessuchasbrokenbranchesortornbark.Openwoundsofthistypedepleteaplant'senergyresourcesandprovideentrypointsforinsects,orfordiseasessuchasoakwilt.Theworstdamage,however,oftenremainshiddenunderground.Rootsareoneofthemostvitalpartsofatree.Theyareresponsiblefornutrientandwateruptake,storeenergy,andanchortheplant.Becausetheyaresoimportant,itiscriticalthatyouprotectrootsthatlieinthepathofconstruction.Treesareneverthesameshapebelowgroundastheyareabove,soitisdifficulttopredictthelengthorlocationoftheirroots.Typically,however,approximately90-95percentofatree'srootsystemisinthetopthreefeetofsoil,andmorethanhalfisinthetoponefoot.ThepartofthisrootsysteminwhichconstructiondamageshouldbeavoidediscalledtheProtectedRootZone