All building materials should be stored in a designated area away from existing trees and, to the extent possible, away from identified planting sites. This will reduce the site impact from the delivery, storage, and use of the materials. Soil compaction, physical tree damage, and the potential for damage from spills of damaging or hazardous materials such as oil, gasoline, kerosene, asphalt, cleaning agents, and cement are commonly associated with construction activity.
No building material should be buried on the site. Further, none of the building material scattered around the site should be buried during grading. All of this construction residue should be picked up before any grading is done. Many buried materials, such as gravel, concrete, plywood, and gypsum board, produce physical barriers, interfere with future planting activities, disrupt soil air and water movement, and interfere with root growth. Some materials, such as limestone, gravel, and gypsum board, can change the chemical nature of the soil, making it less suitable for many species of trees and other plants.
No construction materials (liquids, powder, and so forth) should be disposed of by pouring them on or into the soil. Spills should be cleaned up as quickly as possible. Again, many materials used at a construction site that might be disposed of in this manner can be damaging or lethal to trees and other vegetation. Just because the area chosen for disposal is not within the dripline of a tree does not mean that the soil is free of roots from nearby trees. Roots often extend out to a distance 1.5 to 3 times the height of the tree.
When trees are planted after construction, remove any construction material encountered during the planting process, even if it means digging a larger hole. Buried construction debris can often be located using a soil probe. The probe could be a standard 24-inch soil probe, such as is used to evaluate soil characteristics, or simply a two- to three-foot length of pointed steel rod with a handle so that it can be pushed into the ground. Where plantings have failed and soil contamination is suspected, soil samples can be taken and tested for suspected contaminates. Contact your county Ohio State University Extension office or the yellow pages in larger cities for the names of companies that provide soil testing services.