Gwangju Nam-gu Opens New Horizon for 'Street Tree Surgery'

Nam-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City is opening a new horizon in the field of street tree management by introducing an eco-friendly surgical technique instead of the filling method using chemical substances such as foamed urethane on street trees that are wounded or undergoing decay.

On the 21st, Nam-gu announced that it has completed eco-friendly surgeries to preserve the health of trees on 54 out of 266 Platanus trees planted along Independence Road from Baegun Square to Wolsan Intersection, where defects were found.

The eco-friendly surgical technique minimizes the use of chemicals and human intervention, replacing the conventional method.

In particular, the filling method using chemicals accelerates wood decay over time, harming the health of the trees, and the use of chemicals such as urethane also involves considerable expenses.

The street trees undergoing surgery this time were identified as needing treatment in last year's safety diagnosis service.

From September to December last year, Nam-gu conducted a detailed diagnostic service on 284 Platanus and Metasequoia trees planted along Independence Road, Gunbun-ro, and Wolsan-ro 116beon-gil to diagnose and analyze harmful and risky factors threatening the life of large street trees in advance and to create a safe street environment.

The investigation revealed that 54 Platanus trees planted along Independence Road were vulnerable to damage such as decay even under normal weather conditions.

Accordingly, Nam-gu partnered with Gwangju Tree Hospital, which specializes in street tree surgery, to remove the decayed parts of the 54 ailing Platanus trees and complete sterilization, pest control, preservation, and waterproofing treatments.

Additionally, as a supplementary measure to prevent the intrusion of foreign substances, insect screens were installed on parts of the trunks and soil-contact areas where natural drying was difficult and on large holes in the tree trunks.

A Nam-gu official stated, "When we dismantled the parts filled with urethane foam, we confirmed that the trees were actually decaying more," adding, "By performing surgery using an eco-friendly method, we also achieved budget savings."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.