The Taiwan Forestry Research Institute has set up an arboriculture demonstration and teaching area at its Taimalee Research Center in Taitung County to provide education and training on street tree trimming.
The 20 hectare demonstration area is dedicated to displaying tree trimming and care techniques across the life cycle of trees, allowing personnel in training or those interested to learn, the institute said.
The trimming method recommended by the institute avoids damaging tree bark, helping prevent infection to the trees and lowering the risk of trees falling during typhoons, it said.
Photo: CNA
Institute Director-General Tseng Yen-hsueh (曾彥學) said that various common tree species, including autumn maple, camphor, lilac and Indian almond trees, were planted in the demonstration teaching area to be used in training and education.
These programs would first be available for personnel from central governmental agencies, such as the Ministry of Transportation and Communications’ Highway Bureau and the Ministry of Education, before being opened to local governments and the public, Tseng said.
Associate researcher Yeh Ting-hung (葉定宏) said that tree pruning should have minimal harm to the trees, and pruning styles vary by location and purpose.
The traditional pruning method was developed for ornamental trees grown in large open areas, such as parks, and clear space around the tree was rarely considered from a long-term perspective, Yeh said.
Bureau regulations state that there should be 5.1m of clear space above roads, starting at the road’s outer white line.
The traditional method allowed trees to grow without controls, increasing the difficulty and cost of trimming as their branches grew, Yeh said.
New methods demonstrated by the institute include structural pruning of young trees, maintenance pruning of crowns of trees and rehabilitative pruning of trees injured by impact or disaster, he said.
A video from the center showed the structural pruning method, known as the “three-cut method,” which helps remove larger tree branches without excessively damaging the trunk of the tree. That could prevent the bark around the point from being ripped off as the branch is removed, allowing the tree to heal cleanly.
Most saplings produced by plant nurseries are grown in “good” shapes, with only a trunk and well-developed branches, Yeh said.
When these saplings are planted along streets or highways, pruning personnel could efficiently trim them, he said, adding that their low branches do not grow too big nor leave large holes on the trunk if they have to be trimmed.
Additional reporting by Yang Yuan-ting
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