Rhode Island General Laws Title 2. Agriculture and Forestry § 2-19-4.1. Arboriculture and mulching operations defined

(1) “ Arboriculture” means the business or practice of pruning, trimming, spraying or repairing fruit, shade and ornamental trees, and includes any lines of work that are commonly included under the terms tree surgery, tree dentistry, tree spraying, tree pruning, and the work of foresters and entomologists as applied to the care of fruit, shade, forest and ornamental trees and shrubs.

(2) “ Mulch” means any type of forest material, vegetative matter resulting from landscaping maintenance or land clearing operations and includes materials such as tree and shrub trimmings, tree and shrub roots, tree trunks, branches, leaves and tree stumps, that is produced for the purpose of spreading or application over the surface of the soil as a protective cover, to retain moisture, reduce erosion, provide nutrients, and suppress weed growth, seed germination and for general landscaping purposes.

(3) “ Mulching operation” means any commercial enterprise operating on at least five (5) contiguous acres or larger, which is owned or operated by a licensed arborist pursuant to this chapter, and has as its primary purpose the production or storage of mulch.

(4) “ Arboriculture operations” means any commercial enterprise operating on at least five (5) contiguous acres or larger, which is owned or operated by a licensed arborist pursuant to this chapter, and has as its primary purpose arboriculture.