Ancient oak in the Sherwood forest, associated with Robin Hood legend, may have died of increasing visitors to the area.
"Major Oak" (Great Dries) aged 1,200 years did not leave leaves in the spring and is believed to have died, as announced by the Royal Bird Protection Society (RSPB).
The oak was one of Britain's largest trees with a torso perimeter of 11 meters. During the last two centuries, the countless visitors who stepped on the soil around the evergreen oak to admire the old branches and its rich herd, crushed the soil around it, thus preventing rainwater from reaching the root system of the tree, said the environmental organization noting that they played a role and the warm dry summers in the area.
Simon Paffrey participated in the tree-careing group and stated that "while the team worked tirelessly to revitalize the environment around this iconic tree—and noticed encouraging signs of life in certain areas—the damage, as it seems now, was already too deeply rooted to be completely reversed.".
The tree became famous as a tourist attraction thanks to its association with Robin Hood. However, the millions of visitors who caused this phenomenon led the soil around the tree to become hard as concrete.
"There has been huge activity," he said in CNN Chloe Ryder, head of RSPB estate management in Sherwood Forest. "The most recent decline coincided with five very hot and dry summers, mostly in July 2022, when the United Kingdom recorded a temperature record at 40 degrees Celsius," Reg Harris, tree care director at the Urban Forestry tree care company, who watches the tree, said in the press release.
The tree will remain standing
Sherwood forest in central England is Robin Hood's hideout. The first references to Robin Hood began to appear in the 14th century, and during the centuries that followed it has been depicted in books, films and television series.
However, while "Major Oak" has been associated with the myth, "as regards Robin Hood's oldest medieval stories that have survived, there are no specific references to the oak," said Alex Brown, an associate professor of history at the University of Durham, England.
Early stories say Robin and his bandits had specific meeting trees and "it is possible that the meeting tree had been connected to a typical tree in the Sherwood forest," said the professor.
Although no longer alive, the imposing tree will remain where it stands for more than a millennium. "Major Oak will continue to stand in Sherwood's heart as a natural monument that visitors can visit, living in Robin Hood's myth and continuing to offer support to the forest ecosystem after her death as much as during her life," said Holly Drake of the RSPB
Oaks and cuttings from the tree have already developed into tree trees, which have been planted around the world.