Plea to save dying trees
THOUSANDS of trees across Adelaide will die this summerafter three years of poor rainfall and watering restrictions, leadinggardeners warn.
They are calling for restrictions to berelaxed, allowing home gardeners to save their trees as the droughtenters its fourth year. Led by The Advertiser'sgardening writer, Jon Lamb, experts are demanding people be allowed towater their trees with drippers for longer and more often to save treesfrom certain death in another hot, dry summer.Mr Lamb, who is also a gardening adviser on ABC Radio, said therewere about one million trees across Adelaide, 80 per cent of which grewin the front or backyards of homes, and most were already suffering.
"I am very, very concerned about the health and the future of the tall trees in Adelaide gardens," he said.
"Our current water-saving measures, or `restrictions', are notdesigned and do not allow us to save the trees which are currently atrisk. I would urge the Government to change the way it allocates thiswater."
Water Security Minister Karlene Maywald yesterday said water restrictions would not be relaxed at this stage.
"It's only an option if we get plenty of rainfall," she said.
But she said restrictions were reviewed monthly and there was enoughwater in reservoirs for the current water restrict-ions to remain inplace.
reservoirs水库
'If masses of trees did die in Adelaide this summer, gardeners havewarned greenhouse gas emissions would increase because there were notenough trees to absorb carbon dioxide.
gas emissions气体泻出
Mr Lamb said the ground beneath the topsoil was "desperately dry from not being wetted up for the past three seasons".
This was from where trees took their moisture, he said.
moisture水分,湿分
5AA gardening adviser Michael Keelan said trees had already died prematurely across Adelaide because of the drought.
He urged state and local governments to allow trees recognised asbeing "significant" because of their age and/or size to be watered moreto ensure they survived.
"I think if we have another summer like we have had over the past three years, it's going to be fairly disastrous," he said.
"They allow this water for the environment, for the Murray, weshould have it for our own street trees and significant trees in ourprivate gardens."
Mr Keelan and Mr Lamb were part of a statewide call last year toallow the use of drippers when residents could use only buckets orwatering cans.
A drip irrigation system was more efficient than using buckets,hoses or watering cans, because it enabled water to soak into the soiland minimised water run-off.
The State Government relented and allowed drip irrigation systems to be used from October last year.
Mr Lamb said a monthly soaking, which would allow drip irrigationsystems to operate for 10 hours during the summer months, would be theleast that could be done to keep trees alive.
It would give trees up to 1000 litres of water, which would not bewasteful watering, he said. "What value do we put on the tree?" Mr Lambsaid.
David Lawry, the director of non-profit urban tree conservationorganisation Treenet, said trees would "absolutely" die this summerfrom a lack of water.
"Trees will be under a huge stress . . . because the moisturecontent of the soils has been deplenished very much and there are noreserves to go on."
deplenished倒空
Horticultural Media Association president Kim Syrus said trees would need more water this summer because it had been so dry.
Horticultural园艺的
He called for the hours people could water their gardens on weekendsto be reduced and some time allocated during the week, to ensuregardens could receive a drink more than once a week.
"In an ideal world, if we could be a bit more flexible with our time, our gardens will be a lot, lot better," he said.
Broadview gardener Caroline Dawes has struggled to keep severallarge trees in her garden alive on the current water restrictionregime. "One good soak every couple of weeks is what is required forthem, not a quick 20-minute sprinkle," she said.
Mrs Dawes said she was concerned about the environmental effect if trees across Adelaide were to die.
Trees absorb carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and store the carbonin their trunks. "Every time a tree is pruned or dies, that carbondioxide is being released back to the air," Mrs Dawes said. |