How it is measured
In the field, people usually wrap a tape around the trunk at 4.5 feet to get the circumference, then divide by 3.14 to get the diameter. A 44-inch circumference gives a DBH of about 14 inches. Swelling, forks and burls near that height are handled by measuring at a point where the trunk is normal, and a tree that forks below 4.5 feet may be treated as more than one stem. An arborist knows the conventions.
Do not measure with a wrap that rides up on bark ridges or a branch stub. Keep the tape level around the trunk.
Why it matters in Northern Nevada
In the Tahoe Basin, DBH is the legal yardstick. TRPA requires a permit to remove a live tree over 14 inches DBH, and over 6 inches DBH between the house and the lake on lakeshore lots. A dead tree that could fall on a house does not need one. The agency decides. Our Tahoe permit and DBH guide has the diameter checker.
Outside the Basin, DBH has no permit meaning in Reno, Sparks or Carson City on private land, but it is still how an arborist describes a tree. Size drives the equipment: a big trunk can mean a crane, rigging and more time. See large tree removal.
How Battle Born uses it
On a Tahoe job the certified arborist measures DBH on site and tells you which side of the line the tree falls on before anything else is discussed. Everywhere else it is part of the shorthand in the estimate. If a figure on your estimate is unclear, ask the office to explain it.
Sources
- Tahoe Regional Planning Agency: Trees and defensible space (read October 17, 2026)