Protection of Monumental Trees as a Cultural and Environmental Heritage

Since long time, ancient and special individual trees have been recognized by humans as part of their history as well as natural monument to be respected and preserved, nevertheless the development of intensive agriculture and urbanization caused the lost of large part of this heritage. The value of the “monumental”, “ancient” or “veteran tree” is now commonly accepted everywhere, and systematic recognitions and recording, studies and protection initiatives are increasing more and more everywhere. This paper gives an overview about the current approaches for the preservation of monumental trees, referring to the main implemented programs & projects, organizations or governmental bodies, selection criteria, recording systems, data base and national laws promulgated to protect the ancient tree. Monumental trees as a card of the landscape-cultural mosaic is discussed