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Will High-Tech Tests Tell Us Something We Don’t Know?

The Jakarta government on Thursday conducted ultrasonic testing to check the stability of trees across the capital after a number of cases where heavy rain and wind have felled trees, causing fatalities, injuries and property damage. (JG Photo)

I found it amusing when I saw a picture of two men looking extremely serious and busy with their high-tech devices while trying “conduct ultrasonic tests to check the stability of trees in Jakarta.” That was more or less the caption from the Jakarta Globe.
 
One guy looked very attentive while “listening” to the tree, as his colleague looked intensely at his gadget attached to the trunk. But I suppose whatever “number” they recorded was not all that amusing at all.

Apart from my lack of chemical engineering or arboreal credentials, however, the recent tree team’s actions seem a bit “over the top.” It’s clear that those trees were not meant to live for long anyway. I’ve written about this issue previously, so this blog is a soft reminder.

This is not the first time that falling trees have been a menace, especially in the context of heavy rains followed by strong winds. In 2011, at least 30 cars were badly damaged by the rainstorms and subsequent falling limbs and trunks.

The city parks agency of South Jakarta reported 35 trees uprooted by the storm. The agency also said 3 percent of the total 70,000 trees in Jakarta (at least 2,100) were at risk of falling over because of wood rot, decay or severe tilting.

In my previous story, experts said the city’s tree placement was a hazard. The trees being planted were not suitable for big city such as Jakarta. Their answers were:

A. The kind of trees being planted in Jakarta grow too fast, which makes their roots soft and more susceptible to falling. Basically, the type of trees with strong roots neither grow nor fall quickly.

B. You need soil to fill the holes, not concrete. If you’ve noticed, trees in Jakarta planted near pedestrian pathways are buried in concrete and not solid soil. Even if there was soil, it would not be enough to contain the root movements of big trees.

C. Trees in urban settings are not the same as those in forests. They need trimming to ensure they will not grow too fast, interfere with power lines or fall. Unfortunately, the local administration does not have that much of a budget with which to maintain the trees.

I do not object to efforts to reduce falling trees, but I tend to believe the non-ultrasonic explanations. Notice the trees planted near roads or in medians. You will find trees either too small and skinny, or so big that they’re pushing out of their holes. Or you’ll see how the areas around big trees are often (if not mostly) targets for “warung kopi” (coffee shops) or parking lots or can even turn into shelter for a temporary settlement.

Again, I do not object to a scientific approach, but let’s be honest here — most of the trees are not planted in accordance to the realities of the city and are not regularly maintained. The important questions are not being addressed: the choice of trees, how big they’re allowed to grow and how far their roots will move.

Some say planting trees is also aimed at reducing air pollution caused by vehicles, by producing oxygen to counter smog. Basically, trees are being made into a solution for one of the city’s major problems. Instead, they have become one of the city’s biggest problems involving not just vehicles, but human lives.

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