Kristen Bonocore  April, 1, 2002  Biology 4400

Eucalyptus Trees at Sister's Creek

The Eucalyptus tree by definition is a very large and tall tree belonging to the genus Eucalyptus, of the myrtle family, native to Australia and adjacent islands, having aromatic evergreen leaves that are the source of medicinal oils and heavy wood used as timber. Usually this tree is documented as being a very widespread and aggressive invader, due to the fast growing of the species. Eucalyptus is not a native California tree. It is originally from Australia and South America. Today there are over 600 species in the Eucalyptus family worldwide. They are divided into 4 different groups. 1) Gum 2) Iron Bark 3) Stringy Bark 4) Box or Wooly. Some common names are Red River gum, Red Gum, Lemon Scented, Sugar Gum, and Blue Gum.

Eucalyptus trees have been around for thousands of years. They have been mainly used for their scented oils that they produce, as well as for the massive height. The oils that are found in the trees located in South America and Australia are used mostly for aromatherapy, but here in California, the trees are used in landscaping of homeowners yards and found in our forests. But the same oil that used for its sent can also be blamed for thousands of fires. These trees get dried out during the year, and because of that the oil becomes dangerous and can cause fires.

At Dominican University we are blessed to have Sisters Creek run through the campus. While walking along the creek I noticed a numerous amount of Eucalyptus trees that I lost count after 20. They are very beautiful to look at, but they can have some positive aspects as well as some negative aspects about them. While walking it was not hard to notice them. They were over towering all of the other trees. Some were so top heavy that the huge branches were pulling down forming an arch looking as if the branch was about to snap. Which looked as if it did it would be very dangerous especially if someone was standing under it at the time. Also since these trees were planted very close to the creek the leaves and branches fall off naturally or by the wind. And they end up in the creek's water stream, which blocks the water from running causing a clog. The only way to un clog the creek is my man labor, which is very timely as well as costly.&nb sp; Trained men have to go do to the creek and pull out all off the Eucalyptus branches and leaves that are causing a problem and then haul them back up. This takes a lot of time as well as a lot of backbreaking hours, so labor is costly. The third dangerous thing that the Eucalyptus tree can do to harm Sister's Creek or even Dominican University, is as I stated above the danger to catch on fire very easily, due to the dry out bark and the oil that is in the bark of the tree, which can promote a fire. If a fire did happen due to an Eucalyptus tree then it would spread very rapidly, because there are many of them on campus as well as many other trees and shrubs. Also the school itself would be at high risk, because of the fire itself, as well as many of the buildings are very old and would probably be very susceptible to fire easily. I also found some more reasons on why Eucalyptus trees are dangerous to plant here in California and at Dominican University.  First of all Eucalyptus limbs grow over previously pruned limb stubs, creating a spot that will allow a new, much-larger limb to collapse and fail long afterward with no warning. Secondly, Eucalyptus trees kill birds because there October to February blossoms are so deep that our short-billed birds' nostrils are covered with wax and smother to death. Also, Eucalyptus bark can catch fire, and it is carried upward by the high heat convection currents and, continuing to burn, fall to earth at great distances (up to 15 miles), to cause new fires elsewhere. I also found out that Eucalyptus waste dump that is underneath tree can be covered with duff, which will not sustain other plant and animal life of any kind. . The high oil of leaves, pods, and bark are high flammable. So in summary, I would have to say that in my option and after doing some research I do not think that there should be Eucalyptus trees at Sister's Creek. I think that they promote too much of a danger to the school, the creek, students, and the wildlife at the campus. I know it will be very costly to cut all or most of the Eucalyptus trees down, but in the long run it will be worth it. With the lumber from the trees you can get fire wood and Eucalyptus wood is very good for making fences and fence posts I discovered will researching, so maybe that could be another possibility for the use of the trees within the campus, new fences.