(Montreal) Despite the increase in the number of fellings caused by the emerald ash borer, the City of Montreal says it has exceeded its objectives to expand its urban forest by managing to plant a record number of trees in 2021.
Posted at 4:40 p.m.
Updated at 5:03 p.m.
“We have great news. It’s a record year, ”said Anthony Daniel, planning advisor at the Service des grands parcs. The metropolis presented its most recent assessment of the urban forest on Friday.
From 2012 to 2021, the City of Montreal estimates that 119,481 trees were planted on the municipal public domain and 87,619 trees in the private domain. The total number of trees planted therefore amounts to 207,100 for the last nine years, including 33,841 trees planted in 2021.
From 2012 to 2021, however, 83,582 trees were felled, including 11,468 in 2021. More than half of them are ash trees, with a total of 5,932 specimens felled.
This assessment allows the City of Montreal to say that it has exceeded the objectives it set itself in 2016 for the increase of its urban forest. While it envisaged an increase in its canopy index to 25% for 2025, this objective was finally achieved in 2019, with an index of 25.3%. Montreal is now aiming to reach 26% within three years.
The emerald ash borer, an invincible parasite?
The emerald ash borer, an Asian parasite established in Quebec since 2008, is in fact the main cause of the increase in fellings in Montreal and throughout the metropolitan community. According to a study carried out by The Press from the city’s open data, from 1990 to 2013, the number of trees felled in Montreal varied between 2,000 and 4,000 trees. From 2014 to 2021, this number varied between 5,000 and 11,000 felled trees, more than double.
The parasite leaves forest managers with few solutions: felling or treatment. This second option is the one chosen by the town hall for 17,518 public ash trees in 2021. According to our compilation, the number of ash trees treated was 12,828 in 2014.
To prevent another catastrophic scenario, the City of Montreal is not content to plant new specimens randomly, but also seeks to build a more resilient forest. “Over the past ten years, the City has made giant strides. It has its own nursery which supplies 3,300 trees per year of 235 different varieties and species. We have therefore significantly increased the variety of trees planted in Montreal,” explains Anthony Daniel. “The rule to respect is the right tree in the right place. »
Indeed, if the arrival of another parasite cannot be completely anticipated, the multiplication of species planted should limit the damage, these insects often contenting themselves with a single tree species. A challenge that the City of Montreal seems to want to take up, as well as that of further increasing its forest cover.
“The urban forest is an absolute priority in our strategy to fight against climate change”, recalls Caroline Bourgeois, vice-president of the executive committee at the start of the conference. To continue its efforts, the City plans to revise its objectives upwards with an increase of 6 km2 of forest, three times the area of Mount Royal Park.