I have a large, leaning but healthy mature black pine that has roots that are pushing up above the surface on one side.
These are creating a hazard and disturbing a stone path covering this area. How can it be determined whether removing this root---or even shaving it down---would be possible without killing the tree?
Answer
If the stone path is in the form of pebbles rather than large flagstone pieces you can add more of the pebbles to bring the elevation of the path up over the roots. If you are dealing with a flagstone path consider changing itto a pebble path. It's generally not advisable to cut the roots.