I think the nested intervals model, a refinement of nested sets, solves this slow update problem: http://www.rampant-books.com/art_vadim_nested_sets_sql_trees...

But I've never had to use it, so I am just guessing.

Same article, different site: https://communities.bmc.com/docs/DOC-9902

And a paper: http://www.sigmod.org/publications/sigmod-record/0506/p47-ar...

Here's a comparison of the different approaches in a matrix: http://vadimtropashko.wordpress.com/2008/08/09/one-more-nest...