NEAR RECORD DRY SPELL DECIMATING L.A.'S TREES.

Byline: Dana Bartholomew Staff Writer

The city's glorious eucalyptus, ravaged by a predatory bug, now face another foe: the driest year on record.

City parks stand to lose half their eucalyptus trees in the next few years, park officials say. Other varieties are also stressed by lack of rain.

``Too many things are happening at the same time,'' said Teresa Proscewicz, chief forester for the Los Angeles Recreation and Parks Department. ``They are attacked by psyllids, then other bugs.

``But this drought is really a disaster.''

Weather watchers say Los Angeles is on course for its driest year in history. With no more rain by the end of month, downtown will get 4.41 inches - 29 percent of normal and 0.44 of an inch less than the 1960-61 record.

While unirrigated trees, especially those in city parks, are struggling, those along most sidewalks get enough to drink.

``I would say that, in general, they're doing pretty good because they're irrigated,'' said Ronald Lorenzen, assistant chief forester for the Los Angeles Public Works Street Services Department. ``With an extended drought, you'd probably see some stress.''

Trees in Griffith, Elysian, Balboa and other parks, however, are dropping fast, parks officials said. Of the park system's roughly 30,000 eucalyptus trees, 2,000 sick ones have been removed from picnic areas and park entrances.

Nearly half the remainder are dying or dead.

``We were hoping some of the trees would recover, but they're not pulling out of it,'' Proscewicz said. ``You can see it's almost a dead forest - it's sad.''

For the stately Australian imports planted nearly a century ago, the chief culprit is the redgum lerp psyllid, an aphidlike bug blamed for the death of thousands of eucalyptus throughout California since 1991.

The psyllid damages the leaves by drawing sap, which defoliates the trees and can lead to its death. Lack of rain compounds stress and can speed its demise.

For other trees, the scant rainfall is also taking its toll.

``It's the drought,'' said Arthur Flores, a parks tree surgeon whose crew cut down a 50-foot eucalyptus at Balboa Sports Center in Encino on Tuesday. ``It stresses out the root system, the scaffolding branches die back, and the tree dies.''

To replace their lost canopy, park officials are looking to plant 5,000 sycamores, oaks, ashes and cottonwoods by 2005, paid for through various grants.

It will cost about $100,000 in equipment and an additional $200,000 in labor to sow the 15-gallon trees, Proscewicz said, an expense yet to be approved by the city.

Jennifer Scott-Lisland, an arborist for the Beverly Hills-based Tree People, said trees need love, too.

``All the trees I know need some help these days,'' she said. ``Urban trees in concrete indents are malnourished and underwatered.''

Scott-Lisland, who offers summer class on tree care - for more information, call [phone] - recommends watering trees with a slow hose for about an hour each week.

``And smile while you do it,'' she suggested. ``Touch it, touch a tree ... make that tree feel like it's helping us out.''

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Photo:

Tree surgeon Rigo Rodriguez uses a chain saw to remove a 50-foot dead eucalyptus Balboa Sports Center in Encino.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer