Historic giant sequoia tree in Hobart's St David's Park 'very, very sick' after fires and vandalism
The giant sequoia tree closest to Davey Street is browning, indicating it is sick. (ABC: Eliza Kloser)
An 88-year-young giant sequoia tree is "declining rapidly" in St David's Park in central Hobart due to a range of disturbances, including vandalism and fire, the council says.
Sequoias can live up to 3,000 years, but Hobart City Council has said one of two of the trees, similar in shape to a Christmas tree, appears to be "very, very sick".
Ruby Wolfe, who leads Hobart City Council's greening team, started noticing the browning of the sequoia's needles two months ago.
A range of disturbances in recent years is said to have contributed to the tree's decline. (ABC: Eliza Kloser)
"As the weeks have gone by, it's been declining pretty rapidly," she told ABC Radio Hobart.
"Essentially, all the needles on the tree on the Davey Street side are browning and the canopy is thinning."
Ms Wolfe said an independent arborist is looking into the health of the 33-metre-tall tree, but there has been a range of disturbances around its roots, including three fires in recent years.
The browning of leaves indicate the giant sequoia tree in St David's Park is dying. (ABC: Eliza Kloser)
"We had a few homeless camps underneath there for a while and unfortunately we've had a few fires there," she said.
"The last one in particular was quite bad and there were a lot of tents and plastic that was on fire so that had to be put out with some fire retardant foam.
"There are a lot of chemicals that have been introduced into the soil, both from the fire as well as the foam."
A fungal pathogen has also been detected along with some irrigation leaks, which Ms Wolfe thinks is all contributing to its decline.
"We've been trying to fine tune the irrigation system and look at what we can do in terms of those fungal pathogens but at the moment we're doing daily monitoring," she said.
The two trees were planted the same year construction started to create a road to the Kunanyi/Mount Wellington summit. (Supplied: Hobart City Council)
The two heritage-listed trees pre-date World War II and were planted to commemorate the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in 1937.
They are listed on the National Trust and are of state significance.
"What I hope Santa brings me is some improvement in the tree' Ms Wolfe said.
The Hobart City Council says it is doing what it can to save the tree. (ABC: Eliza Kloser)
"We just wanted to let people know that we are doing what we can to hopefully see it [the tree] come through … but it's not looking good at the moment," Ms Wolfe said.
There are no concerns to its structural stability and initial tests show "there is no evidence it has been poisoned".
A report into the tree's health by the independent arborist is expected in the new year.