In Rochefort, trees are given a price to better protect them

The measure may seem strange at first glance and yet we all know that it is urgent to protect the plant heritage, especially in cities where the presence of trees is essential both ecologically and for the moral well-being they bring to the inhabitants.

The city of Rochefort has therefore decided to protect its 11,000 trees, which are subject to multiple attacks. To name but a few: bites from a snarling dog, scars left by a car accident, “engraving” of the bark with a knife (the “Julien and Léa For Ever” surrounded by a heart! ) or voluntary sabotage of local residents hampered by a branch…

Eric Bourdajaud, the director of green spaces at Rochefort, also shows this tree impacted by pipe works. “The trench passed very close to the tree. We couldn’t prevent it when it could have passed under the roadway at a reasonable distance from the tree. The root system has been affected and there is a risk of premature dieback of the tree”.

Contrary to popular belief, an injured tree does not really heal. On his site jardinieuxparesseux.com, the jJournalist and horticultural blogger Larry Hodgson explains that “Ihe wound closes, it is true, but under this new layer of bark, the damaged cells die and are not replaced”.

Around the wound, cells emit chemicals that will prevent rotting and new cells cover the wound. “The tree isolates dead cells prone to infestation. But this wound will remain a weak point for the rest of the life of the tree and there will always be a risk of infestation”.

All this degradation has a cost for the city and therefore for the community. A survey conducted in several cities in France shows that this cost ranges from €5 (as in Angers) to more than €60 (in Paris) per tree and per year depending on the city, the number of trees and the species present.

In Rochefort, an evaluation scale was therefore adopted by the municipal council for “quantify the damage suffered and calculate the amount of any compensation”. The species, age and rarity are taken into account to estimate the value of the tree. The more expensive the tree, the higher the compensation will be in the event of damage. This would be the case for the majestic ash tree that sits near the city’s thermal baths. It is estimated at 26,000 euros.

Rochefort is not the first city in France to adopt this device. Orléans, Lyon, Nancy or Riorges have set it up based on a project drawn up by two associations: Copalme (an association of tree pruners and climbers), Plante et Cité (national technical center for green spaces and nature in town) in collaboration with the CAUE of Seine-et-Marne (Council for architecture, town planning and the environment).

Together, they created a Scale of the tree, which is presented as an online tool accessible free of charge and for everyone, individuals or communities. Baptized LIFE (for Evaluated Integral Value of the tree), this scale allows “to confer on the tree a financial amount which constitutes an element of appreciation and debate, while taking care never to reduce the trees to this monetary value alone”.