Changed my mind about topping oak trees after reading a study

I used to think topping big oaks was fine if you did it right, but I came across a paper from the ISA last week that says topping actually reduces a tree's life by 40% on average. They tracked 200 trees over 10 years in Portland and the topped ones had way more decay and broken limbs. I mean, I always heard the old timers say it was okay, but now I'm thinking they were wrong. Has anyone else seen different numbers from a legit source?

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lisa_murray4mo ago

Has anyone tried crown reduction instead? Worked great on mine.

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nancys904mo ago

Remembered reading a study about how topping messes up their natural shape and growth patterns.

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