What happens in a tree that is moved?
KEY POINTS- Research on how relocated trees make a comeback in their new location
- Long-term follow-up of twelve oaks with the same origin
- Prerequisites for success - national and international experiences
Project overview
Participants
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Short summary
Experience shows that it is possible to move large trees. This project investigates what happens in a tree that has to start over in a new location. Research is underway to collect data that can help us understand how trees react to their new location.
Moving large trees has become increasingly common, to preserve tree canopy cover and other ecosystem services that large trees contribute to in urban environments.
Both in Sweden and internationally (especially in Germany and the USA), this is a well-established method when the existing growing site must be used for something else. Experience shows that it is possible to move really large trees as long as you use the right technology and are careful with the care afterwards. But from a scientific point of view, we know quite a bit about what happens in trees that are uprooted from existing conditions and planted in completely new ones.
Uppsala Municipality is building a tram line right through Campus Ultuna. Along the planned route, there are about 200 twenty-five-year-old oak trees of the same origin. Most of them will be moved into the campus area, thereby contributing to an even leafier Ultuna.
In this project, we have selected 12 oaks. Measurements are already made during the growing season before relocation to obtain comparative data on how growth is affected after relocation to a new growing location. The new growing locations are carefully prepared to provide the best possible conditions for rapid re-establishment and well-developed oaks in the long term.
Want to know more about how to move large trees? Here are four short videos about arguments, techniques and methods (in Swedish): Att flytta stora träd.