Topping is also referred to as heading, stubbing, or dehorning.
Trees require a large leaf surface area to provide food for maintenance and growth.
Topping cuts off a major portion of the tree's foodmaking potential and depletes the tree's stored reserves. Water sprout regrowth is vigorous. A topped tree will rapidly return to its original height, but will lack its original form. Topping leaves large wounds . The branch wounds left from topping are slow to close, therefore more vulnerable to insect attacks and fungal decay.