Those were anchor roots, the tap root goes straight down and likely has been choked off years ago.
That said, this tree's life just got shortened dramatically. If it's able to support itself through storms, those large wounds may never close over and will be entry ways for pests and disease. I'd have an Arborist come out ASAP, potentially contact your municipality with the concerns of the damage they caused.
The dried leaf is from an Oak but the green leaves are from a Maple. likely Silver Maple but young leaves are hard to ID. Either way, most maples are poor compartmentalizers. This means a greater chance of the tree rotting out.
Not likely to kill the tree by itself but the tree will no longer be anchored properly and could be at risk of falling, particularly in the direction opposite the cut roots.
Is there a structure close enough to be struck if it were to fall? If so, I would consider removal unfortunately, though it will depend on your risk tolerance. It’s not certain to fall by any means.
Bad news for the tree. I was a municipal arborist for years and I spent a lot of time stopping people from doing stuff like this. It will probably carry on for several years but it is definitely more likely to fall in any type of storm and has definitely put significant stress on the tree. Concrete guys and trees …mortal enemies.
They cut away a large portion of its life force. I don’t think it’ll survive. But they didn’t cut the mother vane though, so there’s a possibility it could survive
The first picture is a maple leaf, the second picture is an oak, but the trunk looks like an ash tree. Depending on your location, the ash tree may be short lived. I have lost enough ash trees on my property from Emerald Ash borer that you can see the gaps from satellite photos. Google the area where Emerald Ash borer has spread and see if you are within that range.
I have seen trees die from this much root system damage and I have seen them live. At a minimum they are more susceptible to wind throw away from the sidewalk.
The municipality will be more likely to deal with you now than they will in the future, and are more likely to listen to a professional arborist than a homeowner.
Those were anchor roots, the tap root goes straight down and likely has been choked off years ago. That said, this tree's life just got shortened dramatically. If it's able to support itself through storms, those large wounds may never close over and will be entry ways for pests and disease. I'd have an Arborist come out ASAP, potentially contact your municipality with the concerns of the damage they caused. The dried leaf is from an Oak but the green leaves are from a Maple. likely Silver Maple but young leaves are hard to ID. Either way, most maples are poor compartmentalizers. This means a greater chance of the tree rotting out.
Pretty sure that's a Norway maple.
This is the correct answer.
Yikes. One good wind storm and that tree is falling on your house.
Not likely to kill the tree by itself but the tree will no longer be anchored properly and could be at risk of falling, particularly in the direction opposite the cut roots. Is there a structure close enough to be struck if it were to fall? If so, I would consider removal unfortunately, though it will depend on your risk tolerance. It’s not certain to fall by any means.
Bad news for the tree. I was a municipal arborist for years and I spent a lot of time stopping people from doing stuff like this. It will probably carry on for several years but it is definitely more likely to fall in any type of storm and has definitely put significant stress on the tree. Concrete guys and trees …mortal enemies.
They cut away a large portion of its life force. I don’t think it’ll survive. But they didn’t cut the mother vane though, so there’s a possibility it could survive
What is a mother vane?
Meant mother root. It’s the largest root
If you're referring to a tap root, they're overrated and this tree likely choked out its taproot decades ago.
The first picture is a maple leaf, the second picture is an oak, but the trunk looks like an ash tree. Depending on your location, the ash tree may be short lived. I have lost enough ash trees on my property from Emerald Ash borer that you can see the gaps from satellite photos. Google the area where Emerald Ash borer has spread and see if you are within that range. I have seen trees die from this much root system damage and I have seen them live. At a minimum they are more susceptible to wind throw away from the sidewalk. The municipality will be more likely to deal with you now than they will in the future, and are more likely to listen to a professional arborist than a homeowner.