Hi Carla,

Thanks for reaching out to Ask Extension with your question about your tree root.

Thanks for sending in your photos, this helps a lot! It does look like you have some girdling roots that can potentially cause problems down the road for this tree. While it might seem harsh to remove a root like this on a tree, it is much better to do it now than wait until it's larger. The general rule of thumb is if it's 2" or less, go ahead and carefully remove it, and if it is larger than a 2" diameter then you should consult an arborist. 

I would recommend digging down and excavating the area to see what that lower root is doing... from the photos, it looks like it might be curving back towards the tree trunk. If that is the case, that would be the root you would want to remove, not the top one. That top one looks like it is growing out and away from the tree. 

Here is more information about this from our colleagues at Penn State:

https://extension.psu.edu/girdling-roots-to-cut-or-not-to-cut

Also, here is the International Society of Arboriculture's (ISA) website, where you can find a certified arborist in your area:

 https://www.treesaregood.org/findanarborist

I hope this helps!

Dawn