Is this maple dying?

[Badfish740]

I have three large maples in my yard and after the snow melted I noticed that the roots weren't looking too good. One side of the roots looks a little rotted:

Any idea what's going on here?

 

[colebrookman]

Wait till late spring and see how the leaves develop especially toward the tree top. I have a beautiful maple that was hit by lightning and last year the top was just about dead . I will give it one more season then maybe lots of fire wood. Be safe.
Ed

 

[dave11]

What sort of Maple is that? I might imagine a Planetree or other sort known for surface roots. Looks to me like something damaged the feeder roots to the bigger root that appears to be dying. Maples don't coexist well with lawn. You might be damaging the surface roots with the tractor/lawnmower.

You might consider putting a large mulch bed around it to protect the roots.

Or call a certified arborist, if you really want to preserve the tree.

 

[bjkjoseph]

i asked an old tree guy the same question about my maple,..he said ''that tree is like me,it could live another 20 years,or it could die tomorrow..well the tree is gone...i dont know what happened to the tree guy.

 

[billb3]

maybe someone buried an ex-wife there and the tree is protecting itself.