Written in SCIENCE he
This May 22, a man was arrested for having thrown cement around the new ahuehuete which was placed on May 19, in what used to be the Glorieta de La Palma, on avenida Reform in the Mexico Citymaterial that could have seriously affected this new specimen.
After being captured by the C5 cameras, and after being detained by capital authorities, it was reported that the man who placed this material on the base of the 12-meter-high tree jumped the metal fence that was around the ahuehuete, which it had been placed to avoid damage and thus could replace the previous specimen that failed to adapt to the conditions of the gazebo.
During the placement of the new tree, Óscar Jiménez, landscape architect for the Jardines de México company, commented that several actions had been taken to incorporate it into the soil, as well as irrigation and lighting, in order to guarantee its correct adaptation and growth.
However, in the act of placing cement around it, there is a risk that the growth of the new ahuehuete be affected.
This is how cement affects the ahuehuete of Reforma
After the event reported this Monday, a question that has arisen is how it would affect the cement that was thrown into ahuehuete of Reform.
Ivonne Guadalupe Olalde, an expert in trees from the Institute of Biology of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) explained that the presence of this construction material on the base of the ahuehuete can affect the soil cover, thus damaging its permeability.
The above means that having cement in that area of the tree the passage of water and air is hindered, resulting in serious effects on the health of the ahuehuete, but not before emphasizing that the severity of the damage will also depend on the extension of land that has been covered with cement.
In an interview with El Universal, the UNAM specialist also pointed out that there are other factors involved in the damage caused to the ahuehuetesuch as the amount of cement thrown and the age of the roots of the tree, stating that the thinner the roots, the higher the risk of damage.
While the ahuehuete of Reform is monitored, experts from UNAM, as well as from the Chapingo Autonomous University and the Metropolitan Autonomous University, Azcapotzalco unit, took samples of the construction material thrown at the tree to define what substances it contains and what the damage would be like, if any.
What is an ahuehuete?
He ahuehuete It owes its name to the Nahuatl language and means “an old tree of water”, this thanks to the fact that it grows where there is a lot of water, that is, near rivers.
It is a tree that can reach between 30 and 40 meters in height, with a thick trunk of 80 to 150 centimeters, which adapts well to stony and humid soils, as well as tolerating light frosts and resistant to pests. It has a globose crown and abundant foliage during certain months of the year, and many specimens of this tree can be very long-lived.
Since 1921 it was declared the ‘National Tree of Mexico’ and it is a tree that appears in some Mexican codices.
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