New Orleans' Trees Hit by Katrina Face Uncertain Outlook

Sara Goudarzi
for National Geographic News

April 27, 2006

Trees everywhere are sprouting new leaves and blossoms for Arbor Day,
celebrated in the United States this year on April 28. But many of New
Orleans' trees won't be showing off their crowning glory.

When Hurricane Katrina made a devastating hit on New Orleans last August, many trees were weakened, sheared, or uprooted. But given the severe damage to the city's homes and residents, the trees were the last thing on people's minds.

Now, eight months after the hurricane, a change in the city's landscape is evident.

Living History

New Orleans is home to some of the largest collections of mature trees in the world. The city contains nearly 50 species, including magnolia, pine, live oak, bald cypress (Louisiana's official state tree), and red maple.

These native trees are important not only for humans but also for many birds, which depend on the habitats for feeding and nesting.

"We have many, many significant historic trees," said Tom Campbell of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry. "Fortunately, the backbone of the great live oaks still exists."

The picture people have of the urban forest of New Orleans is attributed to the live oaks—a species that stays green and live during the winter months when other oaks are dormant and appear lifeless.

"That image of New Orleans will survive," Campbell said.

However, many of the other trees did not withstand the storm as well as the live oaks.

After Katrina, much of New Orleans sat in water for two to three weeks. That affected the majority of the city's trees, and the water oaks suffered the most.

"Two-thirds of the city lost every magnolia tree, which affects the character of the tree canopy greatly," Campbell said. "It looks like the dickens."

The namesake bloom of the magnolia tree is the official state flower of Louisiana.

"Magnolias that sat in water for over five days turned brown after three weeks and are dead," said Coleen Perilloux Landry, chair of the Live Oak Society. The society is part of the volunteer-run Louisiana Garden Club Federation.

More than 30 years ago, Landry planted magnolia trees in the courtyard of the Ursuline Academy, the oldest girls' school in the United States, established in 1727.

"All of the magnolias in the Sacred Heart courtyard died and were removed," Landry said. "[It's] so sad."

Not Out of the Woods

Scores of trees managed to survive the initial impacts of Katrina, only to soak in stagnant water. The flooding caused the soil to get very soft, and the strong winds and additional flooding from Hurricane Rita just a few weeks later easily uprooted the trees.

Despite the fact that many trees appeared to have endured Katrina and Rita, the damage from the flooding is now starting to show.

"We're not out of the woods in terms of the condition of the trees," Campbell said. "The root damage from the flood waters often takes years to manifest itself. They may look like they're doing OK but continue to decline."

An inventory of trees pre-Katrina exists for New Orleans, but there have been no complete surveys to assess the extent of the damage since.

"We have no counts yet, but we need to know that so we know how big our job is," Campbell said.

Last year the National Audubon Society and the National Arbor Day Foundation started the Katrina Tree Recovery Campaign.

Through this program, nearly 22,000 trees have been donated to coastal communities in Mississippi and Louisiana to replace the many trees damaged or destroyed during the hurricanes.

In Louisiana, Arbor Day is observed on the third Friday in January, when communities take part in tree planting throughout the state.

"Our Arbor Day is in January, so we're done with our planting," Campbell said.

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