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Canal du Midi

The “canal du midi” is listed in the heritage of humanity book. But the trees are affected by an incurable disease: “the canker stain” (le chancre coloré)

“Voie navigable de France” (VNF) wants to replace the 42,000 plane trees, mostly bicentennial. Today, some 10,000 trees are affected by this fungus killer with "exponential growth » which appeared in 2006.

Faced with the curse, “VNF” runs an ambitious restoration project. It will take twenty years to achieve and we’ll have to wait 30 to 50 years for the plant canopy to be restored. But the "landscape recreated" will last "several centuries". Felling campaigns are difficult to do because some restrictions are imposed by nesting periods of protected species or periods of very high levels of tourism. But by the end of the year, nearly 7,000 plane trees will have been felled, while a thousand trees will have been replanted (at a cost of 11.5 million euros).

Why this disease?  Why did this fungus contaminate these trees that have already lived several centuries? Would the pollution, the insecticides, or global warming  be the source of their weakness?

On the left, the centenarian plane trees, on the right, some plantations of about 10-15 years.

 

A sick plane tree, eaten from inside.

 

The trees are felled.

 

What a sad landscape!

 

 

The new plantings of the year.

by Jean-Stéphane

GLOSSARY

curse malédiction        
plane tree platane        
to fell abattre (arbre)        
to nest nicher        


 

 

 

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revised : 17/01/2017 / published : 30/01/2017 / created : september 2016

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