● Ancient trees are living antiques and living national treasures. The existence of ancient trees is a symbol of historical accumulation, and its historical value, ornamental value, scientific research value and cultural value are very great.
● There have been several questions about the protection of ancient trees: Is the surname of ancient trees "public" or "private"? Is it illegal to sell ancient trees privately? Can ancient trees be regarded as cultural relics?
The fate of several big trees is hard to predict.
Song Zhongxin, 50, has been very worried these days: strange "brokers" keep coming to the door and offering to buy a big tree in front of his house.
"This tree is less than 2 meters away from the gate. If sold to them, it will definitely destroy the newly built door wall and may also destroy the cement road in the village. " Song Zhongxin said. The price offered by the "broker" also rose from 700 yuan to 1500 yuan, but it was rejected by him for this reason.
Song Zhongxin is a villager in Fengtai Village, songzhuang town, Mengjin County, Luoyang City. There is a acacia tree in front of his house, which is over 500 years old. The height of the tree is more than 10 meter, and four adults need to hold hands at the waist.
"Since February, three groups of people have come to buy trees." Song Zhongxin said.
On March 20th, in an open space in Bole Village, Chaoyang Town, the reporter saw that there was a big pit of about 5 square meters left here. The soil turned to one side is fresh and messy, and some acacia branches, large and small, are scattered around.
Zhang, a villager in the village, said that there used to be the biggest old tree in the village, and it was sold 180 yuan a few days ago. "This tree has lived for more than 400 years and can grow new branches every year. It takes three people to hug it. "
The reporter went several times, and the door of the villagers who sold this tree was always closed.
Wang, secretary of the party branch of Bole Village, told the reporter that when he was ploughing the old house last winter, he warned the villagers: this is the oldest acacia tree in the village. It is not easy to pass it on from generation to generation. Although it belongs to an individual, no one can touch it easily.
"Unexpectedly, they still sold the tree without saying hello."
At noon, I arrived at Shangdian Village in Chengguan Town. On the open space in the west of the village, the reporter saw a big pit exactly like Bole Village. Meng Gang, the village party secretary, said that the Gleditsia sinensis tree dug up has a history of more than 500 years and was just sold to 700 yuan by villagers the day before yesterday. "There are two ancient trees in the south of the village. Because of the inconvenient transportation, I didn't buy them. These days, many tree dealers have come to the village to look for ancient trees. "
Fengtai Village, songzhuang town, a cypress tree with a tree age of over 300 years, has negotiated a price of 2,000 yuan, and it will be dug in three days. The reporter saw that the old tree was still standing in its original place, vigorous and tall. What will happen to it in a few days?
A variety of news summaries, the same situation has occurred frequently in rural areas such as Zhengzhou and Kaifeng in recent years.
Several destinations of ancient tree loss
From March 20th to February1,the reporter visited six villages of Chaoyang Town, Chengguan Town and songzhuang town in Mengjin County, and * * * found seven ancient trees over 300 years old, three of which have been exiled, and the rest have an uncertain future.
"A few people came that day, driving a big truck and a big crane, and began to dig and dig trees at night. Early the next morning, the tree disappeared. I also paid attention to the license plate at that time, which was from Shanxi. " Zhang, a villager from Bole Village, Chaoyang Town, recalled.
Meng Gang, the branch secretary of Shangdian Village, told reporters that after the Spring Festival, people with strange faces appeared in the village from time to time. They mainly come to look for ancient trees, and then negotiate with the tree owners after they take a fancy to them. "Those people seem to be from nearby villages, with similar accents, and may be tree dealers."
"I once asked those who came to buy trees, what's the use of such a big trunk? They said that to build an ecological park in Yuncheng, Shanxi, ancient trees are needed for decoration. " Song Zhongxin, the owner of an ancient tree in Fengtai Village, songzhuang town, said.
Gleditsia sinensis trees with a history of more than 500 years in Shangdian Village of Chengguan Town were sold to Shandong.
"Most of the ancient trees are unique in shape, simple and spectacular, shaded by green trees, with high ornamental value, high historical value, scientific research value and commemorative significance, so they are welcomed by some parks and ecological parks. They introduced a large number of ancient trees from other places at any cost to improve the local landscape taste. " Luoyang forestry bureau protection section nonsense. Two years ago, they found this signboard of "selling ancient trees", because Luoyang is an ancient capital, and the ancient trees scattered among the people attracted many tree dealers from other places. Although no relevant statistics have been made, "the number of losses is by no means a small number."
Hu introduced that it is precisely because of these values of ancient trees that in recent years, a group of tree dealers specializing in "reselling" ancient trees have been formed in the society, and even professional companies have been set up to buy and sell ancient trees. The above-mentioned old trees were bought by tree dealers for only a few hundred yuan, and the price in the city will be at least ten thousand yuan, and the older the trees, the thicker the trees, the more valuable they are. He said: "The survival rate of transplanted ancient trees is low, and their future is worrying after leaving their homes."
How valuable are these trees?
"Ancient trees are living antiques and living national treasures." Gao Juhu said. Henan forestry expert, stationmaster of Zhengzhou forestry workstation. He has worked in the forestry "front" for nearly 20 years and has done a lot of research on ancient trees.
Gao Juhu said: "The existence of ancient trees is a symbol of historical accumulation, a' living fossil' and a' living cultural relic' of history, which has high economic, historical, appreciation, scientific research and cultural value."
He said that there is no specific and authoritative definition of which trees are ancient, but in the long-term practical research, a relatively unified understanding has been formed. Ancient trees refer to trees that are over 1000 years old. They are divided into Grade I and Grade II according to their age. Those that are over 300 years old are Grade I and the rest are Grade II.
"The Central Plains is rich in historical and cultural heritage, and there are many ancient capital communities. The existence of many ancient trees is a testimony to this history." Gao Juhu believes that ancient trees, which have witnessed the storms and wars of past dynasties, are a kind of non-renewable historical resources, and play an irreplaceable role in economic value and landscape appreciation, as well as in historical research on customs, weather and meteorology, droughts and floods in past dynasties.
Li Qi, editor of Luoyang Daily, felt sad about the disappearance of ancient trees. In an article edited by him, he called for "saving ancient trees": "If the wind of selling ancient trees does not stop, what will we witness the history of the ancient capital Luoyang in the future? ! "
Is the surname of the ancient tree "public" or "private"
In the fact that many ancient trees have been "resold", a prominent question is: Is the name of an ancient tree "public" or "private"?
In Fengtai Village, songzhuang town, Mengjin County, the ancient Gleditsia sinensis tree in front of Song Zhongxin's house is only 2 meters away from the gate and close to the village cement road. An 80-year-old Song Weiguo villager told reporters that no one knows the exact age of this ancient tree, but judging from its condition, it has a history of at least 500 years, and Fengtai Village has a history of more than 500 years. In other words, this tree has been in the village. As for whether it is wild or planted, there is no way to prove it.
"This is the village tree in our village, which brings together the breath and aura of the village." Song, 46, said that this tree should be the collective property of the village, belonging to everyone, and no one can control it privately.
Gao Juhu opposed Song's point of view. According to the current legal interpretation, in rural areas, all trees in the fields in front of and behind houses, whether inherited by ancestors or naturally grown, are personal private property, so ancient trees should also be private property.
Meng Gang, the branch secretary of Shangdian Village, Chengguan Town, Mengjin County, is also very helpless about buying and selling ancient trees. Villagers generally lack the awareness of protecting ancient trees, which all grow near other people's homes. Although he also wants to stop the sale of ancient trees, he can't take coercive measures. "In fact, people with superstitious thoughts think that ancient trees are the feng shui of a village. But I couldn't resist the temptation of interest and bought it. "
Is it illegal to sell ancient trees privately?
In fact, there is still a controversy about the "reselling ancient trees" incident: Is it illegal to resell ancient trees?
It is understood that the folk ancient trees in several towns and villages in Mengjin County have attracted the attention of local media, forestry and the masses after being "resold". In view of the behavior of buying and selling ancient trees, they issued a loud crusade, but the buyers and sellers were not substantially punished.
In the Greening Office of Luoyang City Garden Bureau, the reporter got a copy of the Measures for the Protection and Management of Ancient and Famous Trees in Luoyang City. According to Lin, director of the office, this is the only ancient and famous tree protection regulation in this city.
There is such a content in the regulations: ancient and famous trees owned by collectives or individuals shall not be bought, sold or transferred without the approval of the landscaping administrative department and reported to the Municipal People's Government, and it is forbidden to move ancient and famous trees without authorization.
"But this is only for ancient and famous trees in urban areas and county towns, and ancient and famous trees in rural areas are not within this scope." Director Lin explained.
"The protection of folk ancient trees lacks corresponding laws and regulations and is in a vacuum." The Protection Section of Luoyang Forestry Bureau said nonsense, from the National Forest Law to local regulations, there are only some principled protection provisions.
Taking Luoyang as an example, the forestry department did not identify the folk ancient trees from the perspective of historical and cultural connotation. Those ancient trees scattered in the countryside can only enjoy the "treatment" of ordinary trees because they have no "birthright". In this way, the forestry department can do nothing about the lossless sale of individual old trees.
Meng Gang revealed in an interview with Shangdian Village that reselling ancient trees is strictly prohibited in Mengjin County. A few days ago, the law enforcement department intercepted a foreign vehicle smuggling ancient trees on the expressway, and the confiscated ancient trees were moved back to Nanling Park in Mengjin County where their village was located.
In recent years, after the upsurge of tourism development and ecological park construction, the loss of folk ancient trees has become increasingly serious. Gao Juhu said that it is an effective way to stop it by administrative means, but there is no corresponding legal basis and support at present. "But it is only a matter of time before this problem is solved, and the national forestry department has begun to pay attention to this phenomenon."
Can ancient trees and cultural relics be treated?
Since there are no special legal protection measures at present, can we classify them and "legalize" their protection? Chen Honghai, a volunteer to protect ancient folk trees, asked whether ancient trees could be treated as cultural relics. Protect ancient trees like cultural relics.
Chen Honghai said that ancient trees are called "living fossils" and "living cultural relics" by some professionals. The ancient trees themselves have historical value, ornamental value, scientific research value and cultural value comparable to some cultural relics. Therefore, we should not only restrict the felling of ancient trees from the perspective of forestry, but also give them "national treatment" for cultural relics protection, especially some precious ancient trees, and give them the privilege of cultural relics protection that they are not allowed to trade on their own.
"This idea is not feasible." Gao Juhu, a forestry expert, said that there are two problems that are difficult to solve under the current conditions when ancient trees are listed as cultural relics.
The first is ownership. It is estimated that 20% ~ 30% of ancient trees over 0/00 years old in China are scattered among the people. These are private properties of citizens, and ancient trees cannot be collected and concentrated like cultural relics, and ownership cannot be divided.
Second, the huge amount of money needed is unbearable. Because the scattered range of ancient trees is too wide, from counting and verifying the age of ancient trees to determining the scope of protection, huge operating funds are needed. In addition, the maintenance measures such as pest control, fertilization and labeling of ancient trees also require incalculable expenses. According to the current supporting capacity of forestry finance, this is very difficult to do.