The Fabrikant oak, from Poland, won the 2023 edition of the European Tree of the Year contest, announced the organization of the event in which the Portuguese representative, the Eucalyptus Contige, obtained fifth place.
“For the second year in a row, a Polish tree wins the European Tree of the Year competition. Fabrykant Roble was the winner of the 2023 edition, with a total of 45,718 votes. In second place was the dragon oak from Slovakia with 18,198 votes and in third place was the Krolevtsi apple colony, the representative tree of Ukraine, which entered the contest for the first time (14,219 votes),” the organization announced in a statement. .
According to the organization, the 2023 edition was “quite diverse” in the specimens in competition, although with a predominance of holm oaks, with the winner “distinguished himself by his dimensions and peculiar characteristics”.
According to the organization, “the national tree — the eucalyptus of Contige — is a leading representative of planted forests, where it is possible, in a balanced way, to guarantee forest production, biodiversity and carbon sequestration, which together, makes a positive contribution to the fight and mitigation of climate change”.
Portugal came fifth out of 16 European countries in the competition, with this year’s prize awarded at the European Parliament.
The Eucalyptus of Contige, a 140 year old specimenlocated in the municipality of Sátão, Viseu, was elected Tree of the Year in Portugal, having been considered by the University of Aveiro “the largest classified tree in Portugal”.
According to the Portuguese organization União da Floresta Mediterrânica (UNAC), its plantation dates back to 1878, when the Estrada das Donárias was opened, and it has been maintained ever since, despite all urban and road interventions.
The large tree has been classified as being of public interest since August 1964. Its planting could be linked to the celebration of the birth of one of the daughters of the then owner.
According to the results of the survey, which was carried out online with more than 20,000 votes distributed among the 10 trees, Azinheira de Alportel, in São Brás de Alportel, Faro, came in second place and Castanheiro Gigante de Guilhafonso, Pera, in third. from Moço, Guarda.
The European Tree of the Year contest arose in 2011, inspired by a Tree of the Year contest in the Czech Republic. Since then, the countries involved have grown from five to 22.. UNAC first joined the initiative as a national organizer in 2018, the year a Portuguese tree won the international competition.
In the last international edition, Carvalho de Dunin, chosen by Poland, won.
According to UNAC, The objective of the contest is to highlight the importance of ancient trees in the cultural and natural heritage.
UNAC is a Union of Organizations of Forest Producers that represents the interests of forest producers in the Portuguese Mediterranean area before national and European institutions.
Source: Observadora
