An arborist, tree surgeon, or (less commonly) arboriculturist, is a professional practice of arboriculture that is an individual who is cultivating, managing and working trees, shrubs, vines and other perennial woody plants in dendrology and horticulture.

Tree thorns often focus on the health and safety of individual plants and trees, rather than managing forests (forestry and silviculture areas) or harvesting wood. An Arborist scope of work is a forestry or logger that is different for one reason or another.

In order for arborists to work near power cables, either additional training is required or they must be certified as Authorized Line Cleaning Arborists or Auxiliary Arborists (different terminology for various countries). There are various minimum distances to be kept from power cables depending on the voltage, but the common distance for low voltage lines in urban environments is 10 feet (approximately 3 meters). [one]

Climbing tree thorns (as not all do) can use a variety of techniques to climb the tree. The least intrusive and most popular technique used is climbing rope. There are two common climbing methods: Single Rope System (SRS) and Mobile Rope System (MRS). When personal safety is an issue or when the tree is removed, arborists can use "spikes" (also known as "gaff" or "spurs") that are strapped to their chainsaw boots to rise and work. The spikes surround the tree and leave small holes where each step is.