Nothing gets the masses quite as fired up as a neighbor overstepping their boundaries, and one story from the r/arborists subreddit seemingly had the entire community up in arms.
A post titled "My neighbor began to cut down one of my trees yesterday before I caught him" drew 18,000 upvotes and 1,500 comments. The thread became so inundated with shocked, angry, and frustrated replies that a moderator shut it down.
The attached photos showed a sizable chunk removed at the bottom of the tree. "Is it possible for this tree to be saved? Or does it need to come down?" they asked.
"I'm afraid the tree isn't going to survive that," responded one user. A few commenters were a little more optimistic about the tree's long-term health and suggested some techniques to save it.
"Since he didn't cut the entire base you may be able to slide the chunk back on then use the bridge grafting method to try and save the tree," a person said.
There was no context as to why the accused did what they did, though, adding to the bewilderment of many.
It's an occurrence that is all too common, as several homeowners have seen their trees damaged or removed without permission. Aside from the legal ramifications of such an act, the environmental repercussions of cutting down a tree can set us back in our collective effort to reverse rising global temperatures.
A single mature tree can absorb 48 pounds of carbon dioxide in a year, per the Arbor Day Foundation. It serves as a habitat for creatures and can even filter airborne microplastics.
Commenters on the original post were unsurprisingly quick to express their displeasure while offering advice.
"File a report, and make the offender replace the tree. Replacing a tree of that size is going to be VERY expensive, which should teach him a valuable lesson about not messing with other people's stuff," someone wrote.
"Your neighbor is probably gonna owe you a lot of money for this," replied another, who also directed the original poster to the r/treelaw subreddit for additional legal advice.
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