Roystonea regia - should I cover all these advntitious roots with soil?

[PalmatierMeg 5,945]

My Roystonea regia is encompassed by a massive ring of adventitious roots coming from the basal plate. The roots are raised out of the ground and may become a trip hazard so I'm considering bringing over extra soil we mucked out of the end of our canal this past summer to cover this ring of roots, then applying mulch to hold that soil in place.

My concern is this: Will covering these roots with soil, then mulch lead to problems down the line? Do I risk causing damage or rot to my royal's roots or trunk? Should I skip laying soil entirely and just go with mulch alone?

Photos

[MattyB 2,017]

Here in CA I'd absolutely cover those roots with dirt and I'd even raise up the soil/mulch another 6"-8" up the trunk as well.

[sonoranfans 1,912]

I covered mine 4 years ago, seems to have helped with a bigger crown and faster growth, though it also could be the tree is just hitting its stride in growth at 40' tall.  In my yard I have lots of soil erosion so some were just exposed roots that used to be under the soil.  Those I covered using (2) layers of 2" pavers and netting to hold the soil.  I still have the same roots exposed (terminated) coming out of the trunk where the bark has peeled up, that isnt a problem.  I think the tree might be happier with some soil just covering the long roots that look like they used to be under soil.