The noble poplar in Hongneung Forest in Seoul has become the tallest tree in Korea. Grown over half a century, this tree was measured taller than the gingko at Yongmunsa Temple, which had held the record for the greatest height.
On the 3rd, the Korea Forest Service's National Institute of Forest Science said, "To precisely measure the height of the noble poplar, we conducted our first precision height survey using a LiDAR sensor and a drone," adding, "Its height was confirmed at 38.97 meters." That is about 17 centimeters taller than the gingko at Yongmunsa Temple in Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi (38.80 meters), previously known as the tallest tree in Korea.
The noble poplar is a species in the poplar genus of the willow family and is a cultivar of the Italian poplar (Populus euramericana), created by crossing the European poplar and the North American poplar. As part of a Korea-Japan cooperation project, 50 trees were first introduced to Korea in 1975 and planted in Arboretum No. 1 in Hongneung Forest, and now only two remain and are growing as representative landscape trees.
Although only 50 years old, it recorded a greater height than the 1,100-year-old gingko at Yongmunsa Temple. Considering that the average height of large trees in Korean forests is about 20 meters, this noble poplar is more than about 15 meters taller.
Park Chan-yeol, head of the Urban Forest Research Center for Living Spheres at the National Institute of Forest Science, said, "There has been much interest and speculation about the height of the noble poplar in Hongneung Forest," adding, "We set measurement reference points for its form and height using LiDAR and a drone, and plan to continuously monitor its future growth and changes."