The National Trust of Australia (Victoria), Register of Significant Trees: now protecting community assets and heritage with smartphone technology.

摘要

The National Trust of Australia (Victoria) launched the Register of Significant Trees in 1981. This was to record significant trees throughout the State of Victoria in a logical and systematic manner with the aim of improving their management, protecting them and extending their lifespans. Trees could be registered based on criteria including their beauty, cultural and historic significance and scientific merit measured by rarity, unusual form, as a source of rare propagating stock or their resistance to pests or diseases. By 2012, the Register of Significant Trees contained nearly 1200 registered trees or groups of trees and over 22,500 specimens, including Avenues of Honour, which were widely planted in Victoria, especially after World War I. In Victoria, classified trees have no special legal protection, but lists are provided to relevant authorities dealing with roads and water, gas, electricity and communication services and this provides some protection against inadvertent damage. Furthermore, once classified, a level of political protection and moral persuasion sees significant protection given to many specimens. In 2011, The National Trust of Australia (Victoria) launched Trust Trees, an iPhone app that can locate a specific tree or a collection of trees (all trees in a particular local government area using Apple Maps). Each tree appears as a pin on a map that can be selected for information such as botanical details and historical information, photographs of the tree, its dimensions (height, circumference and canopy spread), and its age and condition.