Ulm (dpa / lby) – Along the Autobahn 8, 20 tree hollows are being moved to a compensation area in order to preserve them as a habitat for insects and bats. The Autobahn GmbH Southwest branch showed how this works at a press event on Friday. The measure costs a good 150,000 euros.
By the end of 2031, the section between the Ulm-West junction and the Ulm/Elchingen motorway junction is to be widened to six lanes. To do this, the right and left of the roadway must be cleared, according to the Southwest branch of Autobahn GmbH. Accordingly, 20 tree cavities were discovered on the areas – they arise, for example, from abandoned nesting cavities of woodpeckers.
These are ecologically valuable because, for example, numerous beetles, hornets or wild bees live there. That is why they are now being salvaged and set up again as deadwood pyramids in a forest area almost four kilometers away. According to Autobahn GmbH, trees that serve as winter quarters for bats are not recovered until October.
Care must be taken when salvaging a tree hollow. The tree cannot simply be felled, the mostly rotten cave must first be secured with a construction made of beams and boards so that it does not break. The tree is then felled, carefully laid down and transported to the compensation area using an excavator or crane. There the trunks are leaned upright against each other or against other trees and fixed as deadwood pyramids.
