Old and Valuable Tree in Stanley removed for public safety
The Highways Department (HyD) today (August 29) removed an Old and Valuable Tree (OVT) with a potential risk of collapse on a slope at Stanley Village Road for public safety.
The tree, maintained by the HyD, was an approximately 13-metre-tall Sapium sebiferum and was listed as HyD S/2 on the Register of OVTs.
Regular inspections and horticultural maintenance had all along been undertaken by the department on the tree. Since 2013, the health of the tree was found to be deteriorating with a sparse tree crown, signs of die-back, fungal fruiting bodies and termites observed. The department hence had stepped up inspection and maintenance of the tree. However, the health condition of the tree showed no signs of improvement.
During an inspection in June this year, the amount of fungal fruiting bodies was found to have increased significantly and signs of termites had re-emerged. The department immediately conducted a comprehensive inspection of the tree with the use of resistograph and tomograph analysis. The results revealed that the overall structural condition of the tree was poor, and the extent of trunk decay and wood damage was found to be deteriorating as compared with that of last year. Laboratory diagnosis conducted by the Tree Management Office (TMO) of the Development Bureau also revealed that the tree had been infected with brown root rot (BRR) disease.
The HyD, the TMO and the Expert Panel on Tree Management (EPTM) of the Development Bureau conducted a joint site inspection in August this year and confirmed that the health of the tree was irrecoverable and its structural condition had severely deteriorated, leading to a potential danger of collapse. As the tree was located on a major road to Stanley, the HyD in consultation with the TMO and the EPTM decided to remove the tree as soon as possible to ensure public safety and to prevent the spread of BRR disease to other trees in the vicinity.
Ends/Friday, August 29, 2014