Forestry work due to tree damage

Troisdorf/Gladbeck. Diseased trees that are no longer safe due to damage caused by storms or high temperatures or on account of pest infestation are to be felled at the Troisdorf landfill site in the coming days. The felling will be followed by extensive reforestation, with the planting of around 3,300 trees of various native species.

The work has to be carried out in compliance with the general ban on clearcutting, which applies every year from 1 March to 30 September, providing special nature and species protection during the breeding and nesting period. Besides the damage due to storms and high temperatures, numerous trees are irreparably affected by sooty bark disease. The fungal spores responsible for spreading the disease can also entail health implications for humans and animals when inhaled. In light of this, and in order to prevent the infestation from spreading to currently still healthy trees, short-term action is urgently required to avert more widespread damage.

3,300 new trees
In planting around 3,300 new trees of the domestic species common oak, hornbeam and field maple, landfill owner MINERALplus GmbH will be ensuring a large-scale and, above all, healthy replacement for the diseased, and consequently felled, tree population. Both the felling and the reforestation measures will be conducted under full ecological supervision.

The area on which the work will be carried out is part of the long disused landfill Filk I. “As the scope of the upcoming work and the use of forestry machines required for it could provoke questions, we want to make sure residents and the public are fully in the picture before work gets underway,” Frank Borchers, Managing Director of the Troisdorf landfill explains.

As a subsidiary of STEAG Power Minerals GmbH, MINERALplus GmbH is part of the Essen-based energy company STEAG GmbH.