The Council of Agriculture plans a tree protection act: pruning trees will require certification to prevent tree-topping from happening again

Longtian Village in Luye Township, Taitung, has become a popular spot for cycling trips in recent years. In particular, the rows of kapok trees near the Taitung Branch of the Tea Research and Extension Station are praised as the most beautiful scenery in the area. However, last weekend, many people discovered that the tall, beautiful kapok trees had actually been "beheaded" by the Tea Research and Extension Station, leaving only bare branches, with their height reduced from 30 m to 5 m.

After the media reported it, the Tea Research and Extension Station was inundated with protest calls over the past two days. Wu Sheng-shun, director of the Taitung Branch of the Tea Research and Extension Station, apologized for this, but said helplessly that tea farmers next to the kapok trees had complained several times that branches easily fell during typhoons and crushed tea seedlings in the fields, and that the roots were too developed and had severely damaged the earthen embankment, causing the ditch to silt up. Government agencies receiving complaints had no choice but to deal with it.

In addition, Wu Sheng-shun said there were hornet nests in the trees, and that kapok trees have shallow roots and fragile branches, so he worried they would endanger public safety during typhoons. "The safety of street trees is very important, otherwise if passersby are crushed, we will still be responsible."

Public hearing on the "Tree Protection Act" expected in December

This incident highlights Taiwan's lack of thinking about tree safety. Because members of the Malvaceae family have beautiful tree shapes and large, vivid flowers, they have become common landscape trees on streets in recent years. But kapok easily disperses cotton fluff that causes allergies, and their flowers are too large, so they may injure people when they fall, and after being run over, they easily cause motorcycles and pedestrians to slip, which is very dangerous. In recent years, some people have already discussed whether kapok is suitable as a street tree.

In response, Wu Meng-ling, head of the Forest Protection Division at the Taiwan Forestry Research Institute under the Council of Agriculture, revealed that a draft amendment to the "Tree Protection Act" is currently being revised. In the future, contractors or units planting trees and pruning branches must hold a tree doctor license or have received relevant training courses. A public hearing is expected to be held in early December, and it is hoped the draft will be sent to the Legislative Yuan next year. At present, New Taipei City and Taipei City already have a "Tree Protection Act" requiring government agencies to meet the above requirements, but the "Tree Protection Act" formulated by the Council of Agriculture applies to everyone, including private parties.

The international community began paying attention to tree safety long ago. In countries such as the United States and Japan, pruning and cultivating trees requires a tree doctor license. Wu Meng-ling said that foreign tree doctor systems have a history of several decades, but Taiwan has only just started. This year, the system of the International Society of Arboriculture in the United States was introduced, and on the 21st of this month, Taiwan's first English-language tree doctor exam will be held. Once it becomes stable, Taiwan's tree doctor system will gradually be established, and the "Tree Protection Act" is an important part of that.

Tea Research and Extension Station: Changing tree species is not being considered for now

As for whether the Tea Research and Extension Station is considering planting other street trees instead? Wu Sheng-shun said the station had thought about moving the kapok trees elsewhere and planting other street trees, but the survival rate of transplanted trees is not high, and merely pruning has already caused such a large backlash, so changing tree species must be considered even more cautiously. At present there is no such plan.

He admitted frankly that he himself also felt kapok was not suitable as a street tree, and that it is also an introduced species, but more than 20 years ago information was not yet well developed. The Tea Research and Extension Station planted trees to separate the area from neighboring fields and asked the Forestry Bureau for tree species, but did not consider follow-up management.

But he stressed that the Tea Research and Extension Station absolutely did not intentionally cut down the trees, otherwise it would not have left 5 m. At first it contacted workers to prune, but the crane was not tall enough, so heavy pruning was adopted as a last resort. They had specially chosen winter to improve the survival rate, and no branches below 5 m were cut, allowing branches to grow horizontally. In the future, the height will be maintained at 7-8 m, and next year the kapok trees will recover their vitality. He hoped the public could understand.

Street trees should be planted to suit the site; avoid fragile Indian laurel in typhoon-prone areas

However, Liu Tung-chi, an assistant professor in the Department of Horticulture at Chung Hsing University who holds a tree doctor license, said beheading is a terrible pruning method. American pruning standards clearly state: "Internode pruning that does not take into account the health or structural integrity of the tree. Topping is an unacceptable pruning method." Hong Kong even imposes a heavy fine of HKD 250,000 (about TWD 1 million), and after topping, branches will grow from the bark and actually become more fragile and dangerous.
He believes that whether it is concern about hornets or trees falling in typhoons, careful assessment is needed. There are many tall trees, and collapse may be due to hollow decay. "Because people do not understand trees, they worry for no reason." Pruning without assessment is wrong.

Wu Meng-ling, who also holds a tree doctor license, said that generally, tree pruning cannot exceed one third, and 25% is already considered very heavy pruning. The Tea Research and Extension Station should have adopted a gradual approach; otherwise, after beheading, the leaves cannot photosynthesize enough, and the tree body easily weakens and dies.

Wu Meng-ling said kapok as a street tree is not impossible, but it should be properly pruned or dwarfed to 5-8 m to balance typhoon safety with vehicle and pedestrian passage. "30 m is really too tall." Street trees must be planted to suit the site. For example, the common Indian laurel grows too fast and has fragile trunks, so it is not suitable for planting in Taitung, where typhoons are frequent.