The Monumental Centennial Trees of Izmir Are in Safe Hands

Izmir Metropolitan Municipality is carrying out a special study to keep the monumental trees of the city alive and transfer them to future generations. The Metropolitan Municipality saved 120 trees, including centuries-old plane trees, from extinction in two years with the scientific intervention methods it applied.

Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, which wants to protect and preserve monumental trees and transfer them to future generations, attaches importance to restoration works. It saves trees from rotting due to the intense destruction they have suffered over the years, and performs regular maintenance. Metropolitan Municipality Aliağa in two years, BayraklıIt saved 120 trees, including centuries-old plane trees, oaks, pine trees, and chinchillas, from extinction in the districts of , Bergama, Dikili, Foça, Kemalpaşa, Menemen, Bornova, Bayındır, Menderes, Ödemiş, Selçuk, Tire, Torbalı, Urla and Beydağ.

We will keep the trees alive

Engin Duzgun, Head of Plant Protection of the Northern Areas Maintenance Branch, emphasized that they do not leave the monumental trees to their own fate after they regain their old healthy appearance, and said, “We closely follow up the maintenance and repair activities on an annual basis. We fertilize and spray every year. In this way, the trees provide recovery compared to their old state. The trees we save every year by supplementing with organic and chemical plant nutrients thus have a chance to live for another half century. We have a lot of monumental trees in İzmir that have been worn out due to biotic and abiotic factors, and we will keep these trees alive as long as we can.”

How are centuries-old trees protected?

Izmir Metropolitan Municipality teams first clean up the damage caused by the insects in the intervention of centuries-old monumental trees in need of care, which have been repeatedly attacked by insects in cavities and wounds. Scraping is done in order to remove the dead tissues in the trunks and reach the living tissue. As in the treatment of dental caries, rotten and dead tissues are cleaned and special fillings are applied, which ensure the longevity of the plant and contain precautions against caries. The open cavities on the tree surface are also covered with stainless nails, wire and water-based special alloys to allow air to breathe, thereby protecting the trunk texture.

After the tree is sterilized with fungicides and insecticides, the dried branches are pruned, maintained and fertilized. In order not to renew the damage processes, the maintenance and spraying of the trees are repeated every year in winter and summer. Izmir Metropolitan Municipality teams, which perform basic pruning on rotten main branches that will experience static imbalance, prepare static protection in the form of tensioners with steel wires for branches that may break in the wind.