The buzz of chainsaws and patches of freshly upturned earth have been an unmistakably sore sight around campus lately. An estimated 250 trees were damaged at the University of Florida as a result of the recent hurricanes, but roughly 200 to 300 are removed and even more replanted every year, said Erick Smith, Urban Forester at UF. 
A 34 inch diameter Sycamore behind the Presidents residence.
|
"Mother Nature did some cleaning," he said. Frances, Jeanne and the other housekeepers cleaned out some of the weaker specimens, but that still leaves quite a workload for the UF Physical Plant Division as they work to remove hundreds of damaged trees. Thirty to 40 workers had joined the three-man, full-time tree staff, as a year's worth of work fell on the crew during August and September alone. "It will be about a month before we get back to the normal state of affairs," Smith said in early October. But before you get angry over the black eye to your scenic, brochure-worthy campus, expect to see four times as many planted as were lost. In fact, Smith, the resident expert on forestation and consultant to staff and landscaping personnel, says it is common practice to exponentially replace felled trees. "If you were to take a snapshot you'd see there are way more trees on campus today than there were 50 years ago," he said. And while the bulk of the casualties were native laurel oaks, Smith's team will instead contribute to the more than 200 species of on-campus trees by diversifying their reforestation. Smith sums up the recent process of removing and replanting in a euphemism: "accelerated canopy refreshment." Smith points out that students are often upset over losing certain trees, especially if they have favorites they study under, but aren`t always aware of the factors involved in removing them. "Our first priority is to keep campus safe," he asserted. The decision to remove a tree is not taken lightly. The UF Design and Construction Standards explicitly states that no living tree on UF property may be removed or relocated without the approval of the university`s Lakes, Vegetation, and Landscape Committee. The committee meets once a month, is open to the public, and sets the agenda and policies concerning landscaping. Only when a tree is deemed dead, infested with harmful insects or fungi, less than three inches in diameter, or an immediate safety hazard, can the PPD remove the tree without committee approval. The Standards mandate that if a tree is more than three inches, it must be replaced or relocated. If Physical Plant Division errs on the side of caution more than most municipalities do, it is because the campus population density doesn`t allow for a lackadaisical approach, Smith explained. Smith remembers when a tree inexplicably toppled in the vicinity of McCarty Hall and Constans Theatre about a year ago. Luckily no one was injured. "It kind of brought home the lesson of being proactive in our tree management," he remarked. Without that proactive approach by the PPD, which spends all year identifying hazardous trees, the damage may have been enormous, Allan Preston, Risk Manager at UF pointed out. By dealing with hurricane threats very effectively, he explained, PPD spared the campus any significant structural damage from fallen trees. "I`m extremely proud of the way the university performed. The response of the employees was incredible," he said. Ground shifting due to heavy flooding, wind and old age were all factors in the recent loss. While many students haven`t seemed to notice the slight decrease in shade, in part because some areas were impacted more that others, some lament the loss. Shelley White, a senior, cited the area around the football stadium as particularly noticeable, where more than a couple of trees fell. "It`s so sad because they make the campus so beautiful," she said. And to make the campus beautiful, there will be replanting. So while you mourn the loss of your lunchtime tree, remember that the recent storm damage only sped up the cycle of life through Smith`s "accelerated canopy refreshment." | 
