Old trees with hollow spaces are used by many living creatures such as bats, various bird species, and beetles as living-, resting- and procreation places. For that reason, they are legally protected living spaces. Nonetheless, hollow trees are often still cut down by timber harvesters, in the execution of park maintenance or traffic safety measures, due to ignorance of the facts.
Even in winter, when trees are usually cut down, they can contain hollow spaces functioning as winter quarters for bats or other species. In order to avoid harming protected animals during necessary tree-felling or maintenance procedures, the city of Frankfurt am Main has joined with the Institute for Animal Ecology and Nature Education (“Institut für Tierökologie und Naturbildung”, ITN) to develop a set of practical guidelines which can be implemented nationally.
