Call for investigation into deaths of two landmark trees in TST
An investigation has been urged into the sudden death of two landmark trees in a leafy Tsim Sha Tsui street.
The two Chinese hackberry trees, one 18 metres tall and both on the list of old and valuable trees, were found yesterday with almost all their leaves dried out and signs of a termite attack on their roots.
Both were removed yesterday for the sake of public safety.
The trees stood on a slope next to Kowloon Park near the western end of Haiphong Road, which is also shaded by giant camphor trees on the same slope at the opposite end.
The trees were found to be in fair condition during a routine inspection by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department on October 2, but their health deteriorated rapidly in the following five days.
The department said the trees could have died of clogged vascular bundles - the 'veins' that carry nutrients and water from the soil.
Conservancy Association arborist Ken So Kwok-yin said he had inspected the trees in June and found them in fair condition. The department later stabilised them with ropes.
But when he was asked by the department to check the trees on Thursday, he found nothing further could be done to save them.
'Nearly all the leaves were dead, with only a few green leaves to be seen. And all the dead leaves were still attached to the branches, a sign the trees had died very recently,' he said.
Unable to ascertain the cause of death, So urged the department to conduct a detailed post-mortem on the trees. While clogged vascular bundles could be one of the causes, sudden breakage of the trunk, or massive fungus infection could also be alternative explanations, he said.
A thorough investigation was needed because the valuable camphor trees were on the same slope, at the foot of which was a busy pedestrian walkway and street filled with shoppers and traffic, So said.
The department said it found no signs of termites on other parts of the slope and pledged to closely monitor the trees in the area.
