Recently, a thousand-year-old ancient ginkgo tree in Xingfu Temple, Huojing Town, Qionglai City, Chengdu City is experiencing a "special" moment. The ancient tree has a bust of about 11 meters and is the largest ancient ginkgo tree in Qionglai City.
After experiencing lightning strikes and fires, the hollow inner wall of the tree trunk was almost carbonized.
At present, the Chengdu Park Urban Construction Administration has sent a technical team to the site to conduct a field survey, formulate an implementation plan for the protection and rehabilitation technology, and rescue the ancient trees.
According to legend, it was planted by Yuan Tiangang himself
The thousand-year-old tree is located on a slope in the backyard of Xingfu Temple, Huojing Town, Qionglai City.
From the photos provided by rescue workers from different angles, it can be seen that the tree has been divided into two, with a passageway wide for one person in the middle.
The remaining trunk is about 1 meter high in the low part and 4 meters high.
Compared with the lush and green trees nearby, the ginkgo seems to have stopped growing.
According to the staff involved in the rescue, the number of the ancient ginkgo tree is No. 51018300454. It is an arbor of the Ginkgo family Ginkgo. It is 1500 years old and belongs to the national first-class ancient tree. It is currently the largest ancient ginkgo tree in Qionglai City, Chengdu.
The tree grows on a hillside with a pedestrian ladder in the temple on the side. It has a poor growth environment and soil erosion.
The old tree began to rot from the base of the trunk, the whole trunk rotted badly, and the trunk was already hollow.
The overall growth of the trees is endangered.
"We only saw one branch sprouts at the scene." The rescue staff said that it is very difficult to sprout new sprouts under the above circumstances.
The inner wall of the trunk was almost charred by fire, and most of the bark on the outer side of the trunk had also rotted and peeled off.
In this case, the energy transmission system of the entire tree is almost paralyzed, just like people cannot get food and water.
To make matters worse, the tree also has epiphytic and parasitic plants, as well as pests and diseases.
Rescue workers said that the entire tree was too weak to withstand the invasion of these parasitic plants.
According to the relevant personnel of Xingfu Temple, the ginkgo plant is said to have been planted by Yuan Tiangang, the magistrate of Huojing County, Shu County during the Wude period of the Tang Dynasty.
In 1980, the ginkgo tree was struck by lightning. The trunk was broken and the base was also split, showing a hollow shape.
In 1983, two cowboys hid in the hollow tree trunks to avoid the rain and set fire to warm their bodies, causing a fire. The inner walls of the hollow tree trunks were almost carbonized.
Later, tender leaves grew on the remaining branches of the tree, and the tree survived.
Seal the tree hole, shape and repair
The technical team sent by Chengdu Park Urban Construction Management Bureau, through on-site surveys and on-site inquiries, learned about the growth status of ancient trees and existing problems, and formulated the implementation plan for the protection and rehabilitation technology.
The staff first cleaned the decayed xylem until the hardened isolation layer exposed the living tissue; then immediately sprayed green environmentally friendly antiseptic insecticide for disinfection and insect control; then polished and polished, and used a brush to clean the wood chips on the surface of the tree.
Afterwards, the staff dried the cleaned xylem, and evenly painted the surface of the tree with modified epoxy resin to prevent the infiltration of rainwater and the intrusion of pests.
At the same time, according to the actual situation, the staff selected polyurethane materials to seal the tree holes, and used the resin mud formulated with improved epoxy resin to shape and repair.
After the plastic repair was completed, the staff again evenly painted a layer of modified epoxy resin on it, which played a role of anti-corrosion and reinforcement.
There is no shortage of pest control.
Rescue staff said that they placed "traps" according to the living habits of termites and trapped termites under the trees to the "traps".
After that, anti-termite drugs are applied to the termites, so that they can bring the drugs back to the colony to infect each other and die, achieving the effect of "a nest end".
"Treatment is only the first step. Postoperative recovery is equally important to the survival of this tree. The technical term is rejuvenation." The rescue staff said that after the treatment is completed, they will use a special root promoter for ancient tree rejuvenation and root sterilization. Disinfectants, water fertilizers and microbial fertilizers and other nutrients needed for the growth of ancient trees can be irrigated to their roots to improve soil fertility and promote the growth of their roots.
While replenishing nutrients, the staff cleaned up the parasitic and epiphytic plants such as vines that rob the old trees on the trunk to provide a good growth environment for the growth and development of the old trees.
At the same time, the surface of the hillside where the tree is located is inclined, and the soil is easily lost by rainwater runoff, which will cause the roots of the tree to be exposed.
This time, a retaining wall was also built to protect it.
In addition, the staff has arranged for the manufacturer to customize tree hoops according to the thickness of the tree body, replace the rusty old tree hoops, and fix the branches.
At present, the retaining wall has been basically completed, and the rescue work for this ginkgo strain is nearing completion.
Chengdu Commercial Daily-Red Star News Correspondent Lin Cong