Street trees, Berlin
The Urban Woodland

Most residential and major streets in Berlin are lined with trees. In the summer these dominate the character of the city, providing shade and increasing humidity. The city is now estimated to have 416,000 street trees, or 79 street trees per kilometre of road. They form linear routes, creating invaluable habitat networks for many insects and birds.

When new trees are planted, the species by determined on whether there is already a dominant species prevalent, in which case the same species is used to fill gaps. New streets are usually planted with one of the five most common species, which are Lime, Maple, Oak, Plane and Horse Chestnut. These can survive the conditions within the city without excessive maintenance. All new street trees are planted as semi mature standards at around 10 years old, as at this age they are less easily vandalised.

Source: Runze und Casper with the Senatsverwaltung für Bau und Wohnungswesen, (1990) Ökologisches Planen und Bauen (Ecological planning and building)