Re “Robertson trees decision expected in May,” April 20 issue

Currently, there are movements against and for the ficus trees on Robertson Boulevard. Let me argue on behalf of the ficus tree.

For sure, the ugliness caused by unmanaged ficus trees is unacceptable in planned urban areas with vulnerable concrete sidewalks and stores relying on their visibility to passersby. After all, we commonly hear that guns and cars are murderous but advocates argue, “not inherently.” It’s how we fail to manage these issues that causes damage. If we focus on an item or living things as negative, we’d have a lot to ban.

We can demonize the handsome ficus. Certainly, we can find areas of lifted up sidewalks due to surface roots. That’s where unrestricted ficus roots have direct access to surface water, a fault of planning and maintenance.

Ficus plants infested with Cuban thrip and oak root fungus get withered and ugly. But the fungus comes from unrestricted ficus roots meeting roots of infected oak trees throughout Beverly Hills. Again, due to lack of planning and maintenance.

Then, you might be turned off by unsightly white fluff cotton balls ficus that often drop with a coating of offensive black dust. This is from mealy bugs. The latter can simply be washed away with water. In truth, all these issues are very manageable.

There is hardly any tree better suited for giving excellent cooling to our streets than the hardy ficus. First, the canopy provides protection from the harsh sun and a temp drop of two degrees to perhaps 15 degrees. The sidewalk then doesn’t get heated before noon, and doesn’t store and radiate heat the rest of the day. But the ficus adds so much more in active cooling. As water is drawn up through the xylem channels to the massive surface area of the leaves, evaporation draws up heat from the air, cooling it. This cold air, being heavier, falls beneath the trees, essentially providing us with natural free air conditioning.

A palm tree (currently subject to infestation with fungus from North African palms) has nowhere near the shade nor cooling capabilities of the reliably cooling ficus.

I argue that we have plenty of water for the trees. If we could prune and limit ficus trees above and below ground, we can train the trees to behave. Below the surface, we need a three-to-four-foot-square walled-off bottomless barrier of plastic or stainless steel. Thus the trimmed tree grows vertical roots to tap far deeper soil water. In one spring, the full shade will regrow and bring back a permanent actively cool atmosphere for pedestrians. This solution takes advantage of the robust nature of the ficus tree. Easy to achieve root control merely requires installing three-foot-deep rectangular root barriers to safeguard the sidewalks from surface root damage. If we used gray water or water collected from roofs, then little city water would be needed.

The advantages of the well-studied ficus outweigh any alternative trees, as we already know how to use the ficus safely and it guarantees year-round beauty, a regular fresh oxygen supply and natural air-conditioned comfort all summer.

Dr. Asher Kelman

physician and biological scientist

Beverly Hills