The LfL has already cut 20 trees in Miesbach because of the ALB. The felling zone for Waitzinger Park was confirmed. The corona virus makes further planning difficult.
Miesbach - Gerhard Kraus bends over the piece of wood that decides the fate of the trees in Waitzinger Park. "This is where we suspect the beetle," says the employee of the State Research Center for Agriculture (LfL), while measuring with his hands an approximately 30 centimeter wide section of a sycamore maple that lies in front of the entrance to the Waitzinger cellar.
It is official: this ALB larva confirms the felling zone, which includes Waitzinger Park.
© Andreas Leder
ALB in Miesbach: The clear cut begins
Kraus and his colleagues felled the tree on Tuesday morning because they suspect a larva of the Asian longhorn beetle (ALB), one of the most dangerous deciduous tree pests in the world, in its trunk. An EU regulation stipulates that they have to cut down all the trees and bushes infested by the beetle - and all known host trees within a radius of 100 meters.
That is what makes the tree in front of the Waitzinger Keller so important. If Kraus finds a larva of the ALB in it, numerous trees of the Waitzinger Park fall victim to the 100-meter felling zone around it. The ALB expert is certain that it will be so.
An employee with a chainsaw comes up and cuts the suspicious piece from the trunk. Kraus and Frank Nüßer, head of the ALB working group at the LfL, split it carefully with the ax. "We don't want to decapitate the larva," says Nüßer. He wants to expose exactly the channels in which the ALB eats through the tree.
The BR watches: Gerhard Kraus (LfL, v.) And Frank Nüßer (r.), Head of the ALB group at LfL, at work.
© Andreas Leder
Larva found again
Kraus uses the small ax to make a furrow in the wood. Nüßer puts a wedge in it and strikes it with the big ax. The trunk breaks open and reveals a brown corridor. Kraus pulls shavings out of the aisle with tweezers, then a white larva about four centimeters long. "You can see the battlements here," he says. "No doubt: this is an ALB." The larva was two years old and was already active this year, as the chips show. In April or May it would have hatched and infected another tree.
Kraus places the larva in a small glass jar. An employee will take her to the laboratory for examination. LfL will use the wood next to their walk to train their ALB search dogs. The rest migrate to the large red containers on Waitzinger Wiese, are chopped and burned within 24 hours. This fate also happened to the ten trees that had already been felled Monday in a meadow south of the tax office. It will also overtake the other approximately 4,600 trees and shrubs to which the workers will attach the chainsaws in the next six to eight weeks. For starters, Nüßer plans with ten to 15 trees a day. Later, when the teams have got used to it, there should be more.
Karl Brutscher comes over
Kraus is still bending over the felled tree when Karl Brutscher comes over. The 78-year-old ex-city council emphatically reminds the LfL employees of his petition against the cases on which the state government will take a position (we reported). However, there is no date for this yet. He is angry that the LfL in Miesbach takes trees before his petition is finally dealt with. "You are violating my fundamental constitutional right," he calls to Nüßer. Then he goes on. Nüßer takes such incidents calmly. "It happens again and again that people are looking for a conversation," he says. “Then we explain why we do it. That's part of it."
Most critics keep their distance. Some discuss why the work takes place despite the corona virus and exit restrictions. A worker is certain that the workers did not keep the safety distance. They would serve as role models in their safety vests. Nevertheless, the men let them work in peace.
Nüßer already knows the challenge of the current situation: “Because of Corona, it is a special situation.” He assures that he will do everything possible to reduce the risk of infection. “We pay attention to the distance between the workers and the residents. We have disinfectants with us and point out the hygiene rules. ”Nevertheless, the LfL had to start work. Otherwise it would not be ready before the ALB hatched: “The larva was already active. Time is running out. "
Difficult schedule
The LfL coronavirus also causes difficulties due to the uncertainty about possible further limitations. Nüßer says that he currently has no long-term plans for when which areas should be felled. "Now something is said and in an hour everything is different." The LfL think more from week to week. For starters, this means that the state institute will first cut down the trees that are almost certainly infested by the ALB. If at some point she could no longer work due to further corona restrictions, the greatest danger would be averted. The other precipitations would have to be made up for as soon as possible.
At least on Tuesday, Nüßer was able to implement his schedule. The LfL also felled the rest of the trees on the meadow south of the tax office and another one in front of the Waitzinger Keller, about ten meters north of the first. They also found larvae of the ALB there. As a result, the felling zone moves further into Waitzinger Park.
