Work to save 15 thousand trees on 200 thousand square metres has started

After the fire in Yamanlar Mountain, the Department of Parks and Gardens and IZPA started working to save 15 thousand trees in three afforestation areas allocated to the Metropolitan Municipality. 

Izmir Metropolitan Municipality has started work to restore the trees affected by the forest fire that broke out on Yamanlar Mountain and affected Bayraklı and Karşıyaka.  Acting on the instructions of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Dr Cemil Tugay during his field trip after the fire, Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Parks and Gardens Department, in cooperation with Izmir Planning Agency (IZPA), will revive 15 thousand trees in the 200-acre Örnekköy, Sancaklı and Bayraklı Allurca afforestation areas allocated to Izmir Metropolitan Municipality. Watering, strengthening and pruning will be carried out in line with the needs of the trees. Izmir Metropolitan Municipality has also started work to ensure the survival of fire-affected trees in the Urban and Happiness forests allocated to Karşıyaka Municipality.

Correct planning saved the lives of forests
After the fire, survey work was carried out quickly in the field and signs of life in the trees were examined. It was determined that the fire remained as a cover fire without turning into a hill fire due to the timely weed cleaning carried out by the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality teams in the existing afforestation areas and the maintenance of the roads was completed. It was also determined that the cambium tissue of trees such as pistachio pine exposed to fire in the forest area was green and there was no colour change in the conduction bundles. Within the scope of the works carried out by the Parks and Gardens Department and IZPA, works such as irrigation, strengthening and pruning were initiated in line with the needs of approximately 15 thousand trees.

Work has begun
Giving information about the works, Müge Deniz Bal, Head of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Parks and Gardens Department, said: ‘We have 3 afforestation areas in fire areas. We have approximately 200 thousand square metres and nearly 15 thousand trees. We have started to work on these as a matter of urgency after our meetings with Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Dr Cemil Tugay. Thanks to the maintenance roads opened in our area, our damages are at a minimum level compared to the region. For this reason, we have started an irrigation process to create and strengthen the tree bowls. We have planned our works for the betterment of our trees by giving root boosters during vegetation periods.’ 

Maintenance and damage assessment workshops will be established under the guidance of IZPA
Müge Deniz Bal said, ‘In this region, there are forests within the allocation area of our Regional Directorate of Forestry and there are areas within the allocation boundaries of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality. There are also burnt forests of our district municipalities. We also visited them with our mayor. We made a plan in the Happiness Forest of Karşıyaka Municipality. We will establish maintenance and damage assessment workshops, and we will also work on a voluntary basis. We have urgently started the improvement work in the afforestation areas allocated to Izmir Metropolitan Municipality and district municipalities affected by the fire.’ 

‘We endeavour to raise the region together’
Bal said, ‘In addition to the improvement in the forests, we continue to support villages, houses and producers with all units of our municipality. As Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, under the leadership of our President Cemil, we are endeavouring to bring this place back to its feet in a short time.’

Forests will rise from the ashes with the right intervention
As part of the rescue work, the teams will remove the burnt parts of the pine trees in Örnekköy from the saplings. Graft paste will be applied to the cut areas against pathological reactions caused by fungi and insects. In addition, root boosters will be given towards the end of the vegetation season to ensure that the saplings survive the winter comfortably and strong shoots will be formed in the spring. In shrub group plants, since they generally reproduce vegetatively, they will be cut from their bases and re-propagated in the spring. The irrigation process of mulberry, acacia trees and shrubs in Sancaklı area has started rapidly. For the afforestation of Bayraklı Allurca area, works will be initiated in line with the planning.

The search for new afforestation areas has started
In addition to the work to keep the existing areas alive, Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, in line with the instructions of Mayor Dr Cemil Tugay, has started to work on the search and allocation processes to create new afforestation areas in the region. In order for the fire areas to be restored quickly, trees suitable for the geography of the region will be planted and protected in the afforestation areas to be allocated.