Thiruvananthapuram: The scientific assessment of trees, which environmentalists in the city have been asking for, has already started. Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi, without any fanfare, has embarked on a project to assess the trees in five wards of Thiruvananthapuram. What’s more, the Union ministry of environment and forest is planning to replicate the project in the urban areas of Visakhapatnam, Hyderabad, Coimbatore, Chennai and Bengaluru.
A team of KFRI scientists, consisting a silviculturist, a pathologist and an entomologist, has already completed assessing around 500 trees in Pattom ward. All trees, except coconut trees, along the primary and secondary roads of the chosen five wards will be evaluated, according to T. V. Sajeev, KFRI forest health division head, who leads the team.
“A health card, which notes various parameters of the tree, including canopy, trunk, root system, architecture and structural balance, will be prepared for each tree. Damages to the tree like say, roots cut for drainage work, or improper pruning will be noted,” he says. The recent axing of a Mahogany in front of University College underlines the importance of such a scientific assessment.
The ‘Tree Health Card’ project was conceived a few years ago, and a KFRI team had visited the city to take a look at the trees classified as dangerous. “We started the project as there were concerns over falling trees causing casualties. This normally happens by the side of primary and secondary roads,” he says.
