Press releases

• Sick and dead trees must be removed for safety reasons.
• On the Lousberg and along the Vennbahnweg, numerous trees are being removed to provide the remaining trees with sufficient space and light for their continued growth.
• In the coming months, approximately 540 new trees will be planted.

The Tree Maintenance Team of the Aachen Municipal Services Department has begun the necessary tree removals within the city limits. Since all of the affected trees are in poor condition and no longer safe for traffic, they pose a safety risk to residents. “Some of the affected trees are partially or completely dead. In addition, fungal infestation and pre-existing damage such as rot or cracks compromise their stability and resistance to breaking,” explains Nino Polaczek-Keilhauer, team leader of tree care at Aachen City Services. The unusually long dry spell last spring and summer placed additional stress on the trees and contributed to some trees in the city drying out and dying.

Spreading Tree Diseases
Most of the trees to be cut down in the coming months are located in green spaces and parks, a large number of them on the Lousberg. Many of the affected trees are less than ten meters tall and are overshadowed by the canopies of large, old trees. As a result, they receive too little light, cannot develop properly, and gradually die off. A similar situation is evident along the Old Railroad Embankment in Laurensberg. There, eight black locusts, eight ash trees, and eight mountain maples, among others, will be removed. Several diseased and already dying trees must also be removed at Hollandwiese and in Nelson Mandela Park.

This year, work is being carried out on the Vennbahnweg in nine sections along the stretch between Münsterstraße (Brand) and Schleidener Straße (Walheim). Here, too, numerous small and underdeveloped trees are being removed to provide the remaining trees with sufficient space and light for their continued healthy growth.

Trees
That Appear Healthy but Are Actually Diseased Not all tree diseases are visible at first glance. Even a tree that appears to have a full canopy and seems healthy can pose a traffic hazard. “There are wood-decaying fungi that infect and damage roots critical to the tree’s structural integrity, yet the tree continues to receive an optimal supply of water and nutrients,” explains Polaczek-Keilhauer. “The result can be a green tree that suddenly falls over. Even external damage caused by storms—such as cracks—or damage from vehicles, including bark flaking, can make the tree appear healthy but compromise its stability, thereby posing a traffic hazard.”

All felling work has been coordinated and approved by the tree protection division of the city's Climate and Environment Department.

More than 540 new plantings
. Tree removals are intentionally carried out in the fall and winter, outside the breeding and nesting protection period, which runs from March through September. Replanting at the respective locations is planned. As a general rule, the City Operations Department’s tree maintenance team aims to quickly replace lost or diseased trees. However, the individual tree sites must first be inspected. If no structural changes to the tree’s surroundings are necessary, replanting is scheduled for one of the upcoming planting seasons. If a site requires extensive preparation—for example, through the construction of new edging and the associated expansion of the root zone—the replanting will be delayed.

The tree maintenance team will plant more than 540 trees in the city over the coming months. Specifically, 53 trees will be planted on Nizzaallee, 30 on Luxemburger Ring, and 46 on Steppenberg. A total of 32 trees will also be planted on Hörn in the area around Halifaxstraße, Ahornstraße, Melatener Straße, and Mies-von-der-Rohe-Straße.