The fact that humans need to use sunscreen products with the highest possible protection factors to shield their skins against sunburn in summer is now widely known. That ultrafine titanium dioxide particles from Sachtleben assure particularly effective mineral UV protection is also no secret. That trees are also increasingly needing protection against the sun remains relatively unknown among non-specialists, however. Newspapers are reporting ever more frequently that parks departments are applying a long-lasting protective white coating to young trees.

The reason: damage caused by overheated bark in the summer has increased in recent years. In summer, in particular, trunk cracking resulting from intense sunshine can thus occur. This cracking can cause the death of such young trees which, in times of depleted communal coffers, are then unlikely to be replaced. The simple, effective remedy is a white coating of "Arbo-Flex" trunk-protection paint. In this tailor-made product, titanium dioxide, among other ingredients, assures long-term protection for young trees; this product is designed for a durability of not less than five years. During this time, the initially snow white paint (maximum reflection) becomes increasingly grayer, and then gradually begins to crack and peel off. This gives the bark surface the chance to gradually "acclimatize" to local conditions. Long-term tests performed, for example, on roadside trees in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, demonstrated that this protection system (thanks to its TiO2 content, among other things) makes a significant contribution to improving the initial-growth performance of young trees. And not only saplings, but also older, and in particular historically important trees, of course, can be protected using this special white coating if they are exposed, for example, to unusually intense solar radiation as a result of loss of branches and foliage on their south-facing side.

Just one more fascinating example of the ecological benefits of titanium dioxide!