Tourist disturbed by concerning landscaping decision while exploring popular city: 'Good luck to whoever has to replace it'

A Reddit user shared a truly baffling landscaping choice that they found while exploring Barcelona. 

They posted a photo to the r/arborists subreddit of what they described as a "brick volcano" surrounding a tree in a plaza. 

"So, mulch volcanoes aren't OK, that much is clear," the poster titled the photo before continuing in the caption. "But how about a brick volcano? Found this travesty in Barcelona. This tree was one of a dozen treated this way." 

The image shows a tree with bricks built up around it, coming halfway up the trunk in a massive swell of masonry. 

Mulch volcanoes are a popular landscaping technique that does far more harm to a tree than good. While it's supposed to help keep moisture closer to trees' roots, it actually promotes rot and can lead to a tree strangling itself with its own roots. 

Replacing the mulch with a brick shell around the outside of the tree would likely produce a very similar effect, keeping moisture in and restricting the tree's ability to put down roots anywhere but around itself. 

While the choice may have been made to help keep the tree from damaging the pavement around it with roots and to protect its trunk from damage by pedestrians and tourists in the area, bricking it in like that and restricting its growth will almost certainly ensure a shortened lifespan. 

Commenters were split on the decision to seal in the tree. 

"Good luck to whoever has to replace it when it dies," one said.

"If anything can handle it an olive is probably your guy," another said, referring to the kind of tree planted. 

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However, another commenter pointed out that it could be possible to have a tree thrive in that environment. 

"I wonder if its roots have access to the clay subsoil beneath?" they said. "I've seen a guy grow an entire forest of citrus 10-20 feet underground, so it is possible to grow a tree with a trunk underground."

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