Mature olive trees surrounding the university athletics track have been "savagely pruned", readers have told Times of Malta.

Track users and commuters were shocked to see the trees reduced to a fraction of their size in the last few days following a 'pruning' exercise.

"Last year the university actually had an olive picking activity using these very same trees. They were laden with olives. They were not sick trees," one reader said. 

Readers also questioned why building rubble was deposited over the soil, spreading over the track. It is not yet known who authorised the pruning. No planning authority notice was affixed anywhere.

Pruning is a necessary practice to maintain a mature tree in a healthy, safe and attractive condition. Excessive pruning, however, may weaken a tree by removing too much leaf area and food reserves stored in the stem, and rendering it vulnerable to disease, insects and storms.

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