Age matters: the struggle for life of a monumental tree

This study was performed in order to evaluate the conditions of a majestic monumental bi-centennial London plane tree (Platanus x hybrida) in a public park in the town of Pisa, Central Italy. Many major branches are dead and severe decay is evident in a large portion of the trunk. Following a conventional visual tree assessment, the degree and extent of trunk deterioration was assessed by means of a non-destructive acoustic tomographic investigation followed by dendropenetrometric analyses. Molecular characterization (PCR amplification of ITS region of DNA extracted from wood cores extracted with an incremental borer) brought to identify in Fomes fomentarius the causal agent of wood decay; the relative sequences have been deposited. Local administrators are facing a dilemma: the plant is unsafe and the possibility that the whole tree or major branches fell down is obvious, but it represents an iconic inalienable value for the citizenry. Urgent measures are required.