SHIMLA-For the last couple of years, HW tried to bring the attention of Govt. and the public towards continuous tree abuse in Shimla by HPSEB , the public, advertisers, cable operators etc.,but the major share of contribution comes from HPSEB. The trees are strangled with metal wires, and iron rods and nails are hammered into their trunk, which causes a great harm to the trees. A tree eventually dies or doesn’t grow properly. But, the DFO at Shimla MC, HPSEB, Forest Department, and the public couldn’t get any clue about what HW has been talking about, why we have been continuously protesting against the tree abuse all over the Shimla city, and why we regularly keep roaming like abandoned jerks, clicking nails and wires on trees. Here comes the importance of education. Therefore, we thought of revising the botany basics that each of us learned during the high school science classes. In nutshell, we will discuss how it harms a tree if we strangle it with wires, hammer nail or iron rods into it, and why these practices must be discouraged.

Wires obstruct the Plant Transportation System

Its an scientifically established fact that the all plants are categorized as living things. The plant transportation system is the internal mechanism of supplying water and nutrients from roots to all other parts of the tree. Not exactly, but this transportation system is somewhat similar to that of a human body: the blood carries oxygen and other food components to different parts of the body.

The first layer of the tree body is called bark. Right under the bark, there is a layer of tissues which is called Cambium, the area just beneath the bark where cells divide and is responsible for the increase tree girth. Then comes two most important passages xylem and phloem. Xylem is responsible for carrying water and minerals to the leaves where it creates its food through photosynthesis. Phloem is a translocating vessels that facilitate the movement of the food components to the growing stems or the storage tissues. The life and growth of a tree completely depends upon the uninterrupted service of this transportation system.

Now, all this operation takes place inside the tree trunk. When a metal wire is tightly wrapped around the trunk and it stays there for a prolonged period of time, the tree trunk grows around it and the wire penetrates the two important passages, xylem and phloem as the diameter of the tree trunk widens. As a result of that, either a portion of the tree above the point where the wire penetrated don’t receive the supply of water and minerals or same happens to some specific part of the gradually growing tree. The upper portion or the tree either dries or it doesn’t grow to its full capacity. So, in a way, it’s similar to cutting the veins in a human body or like choking by wrapping a tight wire around the neck. It does a great harm to a tree with irreversible damages.

How nails damage a tree?

The thickness of the bark decides how much damage a nail of a particular size could do to a tree if it’s hammered into it. If a nail is long enough to penetrate through the bark, it reaches the two transportation vessels, xylem and phloem. When the nail corrodes, dissolved metals makes it toxic. The damage is maximum if the metal happens to be highly reactive like copper where the chemical reaction will oxidize the metal, leaving a very fetal toxic that flows to the whole tree through the two vessels and ensures that the tree or some particular part of it dries gradually. If not killed, it weakens the tree, and in a weakened stage, the tree may die from other stress such as heavy rains, snowfall, drought etc.

If not this way, then hammering a nail can harm a tree in the same way as a open wound of a nail would do to a human body. The tree trunk is opened for infections and the entry of foreign pathogenic agents like fungi. If the tree fails to develop sufficient immunity against such infections, the whole tree could eventually dry.

For the sake of human life and chainsaw

The deep embedded nail, rod or metal wire, which eventually disappears into tree trunk and no more visible to human eye, could result in mishaps as well. If you search the web, you’ll come across incidents where people lost their limbs or reported serious injuries after the chainsaw bounced back on the victims after striking against the metal nails, rods and metal wires inside the tree-trunk. It also causes damage to the equipments. So, it’s better to check such practices when we know that sooner or later every tree is going to be axed,especially if the government and the public continued to maintained their passiveness towards this highly sensitive issue of tree abuse and intentional deforestation.

We hope, now it’s comprehensible enough for DFO Shimla MC, HPSEB, and the public, who believe that hammering nails or strangling tight wires doesn’t do any damage to a tree. HW is continuously making efforts to stop this practice and get the nails, iron rods, collars, and metal wires etc. removed as soon as possible.

How you can help

If you come across such trees in your area which either have metal wires wrapped around them or you see nails/rods/collars hammered into them, then please do report it to either DFO or click a few photographs with your mobile and forward them to HW with their locations. We will make sure that these trees are saved. So, next time, don’t ignore it, do report it. We all share the responsibility to keep the earth green and save precious trees.

Advance Studies Images:Abhishek Negi