Age diversity

Like all living things, trees decline in health as they age. Trees that are in poor health are not as effective at providing environmental benefits, such as cooling the city, providing habitat or cleaning the air. If a tree’s health is not expected to improve, it is removed from the landscape to enable a new tree to be planted.

Many of Melbourne’s trees, including those in our iconic boulevards and parks, are well over 100 years old. While they have performed remarkably well to date in faring against droughts, changing climate and urbanisation, their health is declining as they age. Many of Melbourne’s trees were planted at the same time, giving us beautiful landscapes of large trees. Unfortunately, this also means that many trees will decline in health and require removal at the same time. In addition to loss of tree canopy cover and amenity, this can reduce the amount of habitat available for wildlife.

A resilient urban forest features age diversity, with species of varying life spans and growth rates.