Fierce polemic for cut down trees

An angry blackbird complaining loudly that its nest was no longer to be found in one of the Tiglo trees in Barga Giardino pretty much summed up the reaction of many people in the piazza this morning as the trees which have shaded Via Mordini for generations were cut down and moved away leaving only the stumps to show where they had been.

The polemic arose from those stumps which according to some people this morning showed that there were only 3 infected trees in the line and the other 6 were healthy trees that could maybe have been saved from the unforgiving chainsaws.

Following on from the article yesterday (article here) where we said ” the line of Tiglo trees down in Barga Giardino which have all apparently become infected and according to experts have now reached a dangerous condition where a strong wind could bring them crashing down on an unsuspecting passer-by. Unfortunately it now appears that none of them can be saved and all will have to be chopped down shortly.”

There are people who maintain that, yes all the trees were infected and dangerous … the fact that the infection had not yet reached the base of the tree does not necessarily mean that the tree was healthy. Others who insist that there was no need to cut down healthy specimens and that they could have been saved.

It is a difficult call because it one of those branches did fall on a passer by - many of which are women with prams and playing children, then the polemic would be of a far higher order.

For many years most of the trees in Barga were left to their own devices and more or less uncared for. This has meant that many grew out of proportion, became sick, infected or became unstable and potentially dangerous.

When it reaches that stage the only solution is some serious tree surgery to restore the situation or unfortunately probably in this case, cutting down the trees and starting again.

Whatever the truth of the situation it is a sad, sad story and Barga Giardino is looking a sorry sight.

It would seem that trees do not rank all that highly on the pecking order.

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6 Responses to “Fierce polemic for cut down trees”

Comments

1. Elliot Jun 13 2008 / 5pm

   Oh dear: what a sad business. Presumably we can be confident that new young trees will be planted very quickly indeed?
2. salviamo la ferita... Jun 13 2008 / 11pm

   purtroppo era tutto previsto…. ma nessuno sembra interessato ne tantomeno preoccupato.
   caduti da non dimenticare:
   porta reale - pini
   piazzetta - cipressi e pini
   sotto piazzetta - cedro
   piangrande - tigli
   piazzale del fosso - cedro e platani
   giardino - tigli
   sicuramente ce ne sono molti altri ma il peggio purtroppo deve ancora arrivare, siamo per essere sommersi da un’immensa colata di cemento e il bel paesaggio che fu……molto presto non ci sara’ piu’!!!!!
   che tristezza
3. doggybag Jun 13 2008 / 11pm

   “ma nessuno sembra interessato ne tantomeno preoccupato.” ??

   

   2003 - Barga Vecchia was woken up this morning to the sound of a chain saw in action. One of the tallest pine trees in Barga Vecchia and one which has been leaning at an alarming angle for some time now (article here)

   

   2004 - This morning the streets were littered with broken tiles lifted from the roofs by the gusting wind, but the most serious damage was to a parked car completely destroyed by falling branche (article here)

   

   2004- The 30 metre tall pine tree that has stood and given shade in one of piazzas in Barga Vecchia since the late 30’s is no more. It had grown too tall and the recent storms had damaged the tree and made it too dangerous to survive.(article here)

   

   2004 - Fosso will never be the same if the tree dies - the monumental Lebanese Cedar tree which has dominated the Fosso for around 180 is now very, very ill and looking like a tree that will have great difficulty in passing the coming winter intact. Botanical experts from Pisa University checked on the health of the ailing tree in June of this year and the comune closed off the whole area while the tests were taking place. The alarm was first raised way back in 1983 when the Cedar was named as one of the trees at risk by the author Valido Capodarca in his book Toscana, “Cento Alberi da Salvare” - “Tuscany, 100 trees to save” but it has been really only in the last 3 or 4 years that the difference in the foliage has been noticable to the non expert. (article here)

   

   2005 - Trees in Barga …Più in alto, si ergeva la mole maestosa del ponte più grande, quello di cemento armato: i tre grandi alberi situati tra i due ponti non c’erano più. Ricordai per alcuni minuti le sensazioni piacevoli che si potevano sperimentare al loro cospetto, in ogni stagione; qualcuno, a suo tempo, mi aveva anche narrato che avevano salvato la vita a due persone che, scivolate giù, si erano aggrappate alle loro generose chiome, attutendo in qualche modo la caduta. (full article here)

   

   2008 - Timing of pruning Plane trees questioned - This morning the plane trees on the Fosso just outside the main walls of Barga were pruned by workers for the Provincia of Lucca. (article here)
4. salviamo la ferita... Jun 14 2008 / 12am

   bravo doggy! grazie per le preziose informazioni e per tutto quello che stai documentando, in realta’ sono certo che dispiaccia a molti …purtroppo questo sentimento comune non e’ sufficiente a migliorare lo state delle cose .
   sarei felicissimo se in molti oggi si fossero recati in comune (meglio se tutti insieme), per esprimere il proprio disappunto ed avere chiarimenti sul mega - progetto di rio fontanamaggio.
5. t. collar Jun 14 2008 / 9am

   Anch’io ho seggato il tilio nel mi garden e sparso diserbante…so what.
   I say…diamoli foco a tutti questi erbaci
6. w le piante Jun 16 2008 / 12am

   w le piante said over on chat the following : la gente non si fida piu’ perche’ troppi alberi sono stati abbattuti inutilmente, significa che non c’e’ rispetto per le piante e quindi per la natura. come mai questi alberi sono sopravvissuti tutti questi anni e improvvisamente si ammalano e diventano pericolosi? forse dovremmo rivedere il modo in cui le piante vengono potate e fare piu’ prevenzione?!?

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