Magdeburg's trees in danger: citizens help against heat and drought!

Magdeburg's trees in danger: citizens help against heat and drought!

07745 Jena, Deutschland - city trees in the Altmark are on the edge of despair. The green giants suffer from heat and drought, which not only contribute to the beautification of the cityscape, but also play an essential role for the microclimate. In order to preserve the valuable city green, Magdeburg launched the “Magdeburg Gäß” civil project. This digital platform enables citizens to pour trees in a targeted manner and to document their water requirements. According to MDR are on a digital map over 82,000 city trees that are dependent on water.

The young trees are a particularly serious Problem. Their roots often do not reach deep enough into the ground to supply themselves with water. The city actively participates in the project and irrigates around 4,200 endangered city trees with around 60,000 liters of water every day. Each tree receives an average of 100 liters of water once a week to survive the heat period and drought.

for a green future

climate change means that dry periods become more common and in particular the beech as an endangered tree species is increasingly in danger. A study by Prof. Andreas Roloff from the TU Dresden shows that young trees can better adapt to lack of water than their older relatives. This could be a ray of hope for the green roommates of the city, which showed an amazing adaptability during the dryness from 2018 to 2020. While older trees often succumb to the lack of water, the young trees have proven to be more resistant by reducing their leaves and developing thicker wax layers to minimize water loss. So reports tu dresden .

The challenge of preserving the trees from death is not only locally, but also affects cities in all of Saxony-Anhalt. According to the information from Environmental Bundesam Climate change is very endangered. Many of these trees only reach half of their potential age, which means that the loss of old trees has far -reaching consequences for biodiversity.