Biggest threat here now is geotechnicians and foundation/building engineers.
Due to the current drought many houses are cracking. Reactive clay soils are subsiding, there is a standard that says where a trees distance is closer than it's height ... either top the tree or cut it down.
To err on the side of caution and cover their azzes in many instances a removal recommendation is made on them. In many instances all trees on the property are cut down.
This, although supported by engineers, is deemed the most cost effective method of alleviating the subsidence.
In my experience looking at all the cracked houses over my time in 90% of cases the house cracked on the side the tree was, also to coincidental to brush off.
With deforestation the newer method of fishbone or herringbone removal of vegetation creates more rain. We have a thread on that here to.
The message on the need for decent urban tree management is slowly being listened to by people.
