The
Trees which provide innumerable goods
and services for the mankind specially for the protection of environment and considered as a strong component to counter
the vagaries of nature like drought, flood, climate change etc have sometime
fall short of required expectations as witnessed in the recent havoc caused by Cyclone Hudhud
which devastated the coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh and Orissa on 12th
October this year. Touching a speed up to 180 Km/hour, the cyclone devastated majority of coastal districts of
Andhra Pradesh taking lives of 46 people and affecting around 30 Lakhs families.
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Apart
from loss of lives and properties, the green cover of Visakhapatnam for which
the Corporation even got awards previously also got the dubious distinction of
becoming instrumental in more damages to building and other infrastructure
leaving apart the loss of vegetation itself
1. Green
cover destroyed (http://www.deccanchronicle.com/141013/nation-current-affairs/article/vizag%E2%80%99s-green-cover-destroyed-hudhud)
2. Hudhud
cyclone- a green disaster for the State (http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/states/hudhud-cyclone-a-green-disaster-for-vizag/article6497201.ece)
3. Couples
feel blues…(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Visakhapatnam/Couples-feel-blue-as-Vizag
4. Visakhapatnam
stripped of 70%..... (http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/andhra_pradesh/Cyclone-Hudhud-Visakhapatnam-Stripped-of-70-Percent-of-Green-Cover/2014/10/14/article2477031.ece)
5. Hudhud
leaves biodiversity park ravaged….(http://www.deccanchronicle.com/141019/nation-current-affairs/article/hudhud-leaves-biodiversity-park-ravaged-vizag)
In
most of the literature on forest regeneration and management practices there is a mention of wind break/ shelter belt system consisting of tress of various species planted
across the speed direction of the wind for the purpose of suppressing or reducing the high winds speed and controlling the ill effects
however the recent experience of Hudhud damage has now re opened the
dimension of forestry management which was hitherto not
given much importance in tree plantation specially in urban areas. This is the issue of tolerance
of different tree species towards the natural calamity like cyclone.
As
per rough estimates of Visakhapatnam officials, approximately 78000 trees (nearly
70 %) were got uprooted in the cyclone. Species like Delonix regia (Gulmohar),
Peltophoram( Yellow Flame Tree), Tababeua, Samania saman( Rain tree),Acacias, Jacarandas and Eucalyptus were prominent which got uprooted/ damaged in
the Vishakhapatnam city itself in the recent cyclone.
This
considerable reduction of green space is
going to reduce the capacity of Urban Forests of Visakhapatnam and other towns to
mitigate the ill effects of environmental
degradation including global warming apart from the aesthetic beauty of the City however the loss can also be taken as opportunity by City Planners and Urban Foresters to revise and rewrite the planning for afforestation programme duly giving space to factors like cyclone tolerance capacity , root system etc apart
from other silvi-mechanical aspects . The simple rule that can be made applicable
for selection of species is to avoid fast growing trees and those having shallow root systems and select slow
growing, having high wood density,dense crown and native trees with deep and profuse
root system like Jamun(Syzygium ), Palms
, Mango and Ficus to name a few. Giving more priority to areas
like beaches and open places having adequate soil and moisture for future planting will also be helpful as
the trees in these habitats will tend to grow more vigorous and strong due to availability
of more space and deep soil.
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