The work along the road network, which may be carried out in the open countryside between
the beginning of October and the end of February in accordance with the Federal Nature Conservation Act, is
necessary to maintain the functions of the roadside vegetation in the long term and to ensure the safety
of road users.
By creating the clearance profile, the view of signs and traffic signs is restored
and trees and shrubs that protrude into the carriageway are cut back. Hedges that have become too high and sparse
are also maintained by "topping up", i.e. cutting them about ten
centimetres above the ground. What may sometimes seem like radical clear-cutting,
serves as a life-sustaining and rejuvenating maintenance measure for the plants, from which they quickly
recover. By proceeding in sections, small animals and insects have the opportunity to
adapt to the new situation and are given enough
space to retreat to in the untouched adjacent areas. In addition, trees within the
hedgerows that are worth preserving will be marked in advance of the work and left as they are. In addition to the aim of establishing
ecologically valuable old-growth stands that shape the landscape through this selective
promotion of individual trees, the selection of the remaining wood species also plays a major role in terms of
adapting to climate change.
In addition to large-scale maintenance, felling individual trees that are now severely damaged is a
second component of woodland maintenance work. In addition to fungal diseases, which have
increased significantly in recent years and have led to the total death of affected trees in some species,
the roadside trees are also suffering greatly from the drought of recent summers.
Responding to the increasing number of damaged trees in good time presents the road maintenance service
with major challenges. At the same time, the lack of
precipitation in summer is also making it increasingly difficult to achieve successful growth in trees that are regularly
newly planted.
For the tree maintenance work, which in some cases can only be carried out with an aerial work platform and special equipment (felling crane)
, the roadway will be narrowed
or closed on one side to secure the work area and traffic will be partially regulated via construction site traffic lights
depending on the local conditions. The district administration office asks
road users for their understanding for the resulting traffic obstructions.
