Lord Mayor plants tree of the year

On Arbor Day today, Lord Mayor Dr. Thomas Nitzsche will plant the Tree of the Year 2023. The bog birch will be located in Göschwitz on the banks of the Saale next to the cycle path, south of the pedestrian bridge towards Lobeda, and will be placed next to a holly, the Tree of the Year 2021.

Bog birch as a climate protection indicator

Even though the bog birch is not actually found in Jena due to the limestone soil, the chosen location on the banks of the Saale is well suited to it: It thrives on moist to wet, moderately nutrient-rich, acidic bog, peat and sandy soils. It also likes sunny locations and is nevertheless very hardy. It tolerates temperatures down to minus 40 degrees. As a pioneer tree, it quickly establishes itself on treeless soils and provides protection for other tree species.

The drainage of the moors has made the bog birch rare. Accordingly, its occurrence can be regarded as an indicator of ecological value, biodiversity and climate protection, as intact and near-natural moors are a very valuable habitat and effective CO2 reservoir.

25th Tree of the Year in Jena

The Tree of the Year has been chosen annually by the "Kuratorium Baum des Jahres" (KBJ) since 1989. The selected tree has been planted in Jena since 1997. Due to the Corona-related break in 2020 and 2022, the bog birch is now the 25th tree in this series.