---
title: Included Bark: What It Is and Why Forks Split
url: https://battleborntreeservice.com/glossary/included-bark/
business: Battle Born Tree Service
address: 6301 US Highway 50 East, Carson City, NV 89701
phone: 775.232.8243
hours: Office Monday-Friday 8:30 am-5:00 pm; phones answered seven days a week; 24-hour emergency service
credentials: ISA Certified Arborist WE-11728A on staff; Nevada Business License # 20131580674; fully insured
type: Tree service (removal, crane work, pruning, stump grinding, defensible space, snow removal, firewood)
---

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- [Arborist glossary](https://battleborntreeservice.com/glossary/)
- Included bark

# What is included bark?

Included bark is bark that gets trapped inside a narrow V-shaped fork as two stems grow against each other, so the wood never knits together. Forks with included bark are a common place for a tree to split under wind or snow load.

## How to recognise it

Look where two stems of similar size meet. A healthy union shows a raised [branch bark ridge](https://battleborntreeservice.com/glossary/branch-bark-ridge/) that pushes outward; an included union shows a seam or crease running down into the fork, often with bark folded inward. Sometimes a dark line of sap or a crack shows where the weak spot is already moving.

The seam means the two stems are not truly joined. They are leaning on each other, like two people back to back, and the load rises as both get bigger.

## Why it matters in Northern Nevada

Siberian elms, Callery pears and many maples here form tight [codominant stems](https://battleborntreeservice.com/glossary/codominant-stems/). Downslope winds along the Carson Range and heavy wet spring snow put the greatest strain on exactly those unions, and a tree in leaf catches the most. A split often takes half the crown with it.

A repair after the fact is limited. A union that has already cracked can be supported, but the bark inside the fork stays inside. For that reason the better time to act is before a crack shows, and the best time is when the tree is young.

## What an arborist does about it

Options run from structural pruning that slows one stem, to cabling, to removing one stem or the tree when the fork stands over a house or driveway. The choice follows the tree's size, the crack, if any, and what it would hit. A certified arborist looks at the whole tree, not only the fork, because root and trunk condition decide whether support is worth installing.

If you hear a crack in a tree during a storm, keep people away from it. If a part falls on a house or a line is involved, the rules are 911 if anyone is hurt, NV Energy for anything touching a line, and then our 24-hour line at [775.232.8243](tel:775.232.8243).

### Sources

- [International Society of Arboriculture, Trees Are Good: Pruning Young Trees (brochure)](https://www.treesaregood.org/Portals/0/TreesAreGood_Pruning%20Young%20Trees_0621.pdf) (read October 17, 2026)

### Talk to the office

[775.232.8243](tel:775.232.8243)

| Monday to Friday | 8:30 am - 5:00 pm |
|---|---|
| Saturday and Sunday | Office closed, phones answered |

Phones answered seven days a week. 24-hour emergency service.

[Free estimate](#quote)

### Keep reading

- [Arborist glossary](https://battleborntreeservice.com/glossary/)
- [Cabling and bracing: when it saves a tree](https://battleborntreeservice.com/guides/tree-cabling-bracing-explained/)
- [Warning signs before a tree fails](https://battleborntreeservice.com/guides/warning-signs-tree-failure/)
- [Siberian elm](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-guide/siberian-elm/)

## See also

[Codominant stems](https://battleborntreeservice.com/glossary/codominant-stems/) [Branch bark ridge](https://battleborntreeservice.com/glossary/branch-bark-ridge/) [Central leader](https://battleborntreeservice.com/glossary/central-leader/)

## Read it in context

[Young trees in new subdivisions: the first ten years](https://battleborntreeservice.com/guides/young-tree-care-new-subdivisions/) [Protecting trees from plow and snow-load damage](https://battleborntreeservice.com/guides/protecting-trees-from-plows-snow-load/) [Callery (flowering) pear](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-guide/callery-flowering-pear/)