Cagliari: urgent safety measures for 7 large trees in the city affected by fungal infections
15 different fungal species have been identified, some of which are the first documented in Sardinia.
Cagliari: urgent safety measures for 7 large trees in the city affected by fungal infections
Following the fall of an important branch of a Ficus macrophylla in Piazza Ingrao, which took place last May 15, 2023, the Parks, Green and Wildlife Management Service took action to start a complex health monitoring of ten tree specimens of large dimensions in various municipal locations: nine specimens of Ficus macrophylla (three in Piazza Ingrao, three in Piazza Matteotti, three in the Public Gardens); an example of Prosopis torquata at the Parco delle Rimembranze.
The choice of specimens was based on reasons of historical importance, age and size.
Monitoring and analysis
This monitoring, of an extremely specialized nature, was entrusted to Department of Agriculture of the University of Sassari, whose teachers and researchers are experts in the field of Phytopathology.
The investigation, carried out through both field and laboratory activities, involved the sampling of portions of symptomatic branches and branches which were then subjected to laboratory analysis to obtain fungal isolates involved in the disease and their characterization under the morphological and biomolecular profile.
The monitoring activity highlighted a complex symptomatic picture, attributable to the action of one or more pathogens, which is why wood and bark samples were taken from each plant from the edges of necrotic lesions and cankers on the stem, branches and branches. The laboratory analyzes on said samples, based on the morphological characters and molecular investigations, have allowed theidentification of fifteen different fungal species, some of which are the first documented in Sardinia.
At the end of the analyses, six tree specimens were found to be affected by microbial infections Ficus macrophylla (three in Piazza Ingrao, two in Piazza Matteotti, one in the Public Gardens) and an exemplary of Prosopis torquata (Remembrance Park).
Intervention plan and limitation of access and transit of the areas
The Parks, Green and Wildlife Management Service immediately took action to create a Intervention plan which promptly allows the implementation of the intervention guidelines, differentiated by location (parks, squares open to the public and construction site squares).
The first step is to delimitation of all the areas involved and in the interdiction to public in the following locations: Public Gardens, Parco delle Rimembranze, Piazza Ingrao and Piazza Matteotti.
Subsequently, starting next week, under the guidance of the teachers of the University's Department of Agriculture, a plan will be prepared for the appropriate plant protection interventions to be carried out. Among the seven trees found to be affected by microbial infection, two are registered in the Register of Monumental Trees (a Ficus microphylla in the Public Gardens, the Prosopis torquata in the Parco delle Rimembranze): for this reason, authorization has already been requested for the interventions on
competent Forestry and Environmental Surveillance Corps of Sardinia.
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