Trees removed to protect bridge

 At our last Neighborhood Board meeting, there was discussion about the Albizia tree overhanging the bridge on Komo Mai Drive in the gulch to Pacific Palisades being removed for safety reasons. Should the tree fall it could damage the bridge or severely impede vehicular movement in and out of Palisades.

According to the Hawaii Invasive Species Council (HISC), Albezia is an invasive species with the following characteristics:

Description of Albezia

• Large tree up to 150ft tall
• Extremely fast growing, up to 15 ft per year
• Prone to “sudden limb shear” or “sudden branch drop.” This phenomenon is defined as the sudden failure and collapse of live branches with no sign of physical weakness, and without apparent cause.
• Produces large quantities of wind dispersed seeds

Impacts of Albezia

• Capable of altering an entire ecosystem by increasing soil nitrogen levels
• Quickly outcompetes and shades out native Hawaiian forest plants
• Reduces habitat quality for native bird species
• Fallen trees and limbs can block roads, and waterways
• Fallen trees and limbs can cause damage infrastructure and property
• Large trees are costly to remove