More than 60 trees have been removed from Commonwealth Park in the past five years, left dead or damaged by the Floriade festival.
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The figure was revealed in National Capital Authority documents prepared for Senate Estimates hearings in February, after the Authority warned Floriade organisers it must stop killing trees if it is to stay in Commonwealth Park.
Early decline and death of the trees is being caused by uneven watering of flower beds and reinstating of turf, significant disruption to tree roots from construction and heavy equipment and vehicle movement over roots.
The placement of vendors at the festival is also to blame.
The NCA documents show 24 trees were removed in 2015 - separate from those tree removals required from storm or other damage in the park.
A further 24 trees had to be removed in 2012, up from a handful in each of the other years in the period.
Obtained under freedom of information rules by The Canberra Times, the figures come as the authority works with the ACT government on a relocation plan for Floriade from 2017, as part of efforts to reclaim some of the park for year-round public use.
The government has trialled drop-in cricket pitch technology to create portable flower beds. Grown at the Yarralumla Nursery, the beds are housed in large metal boxes.
NCA boss Malcolm Snow has previously told Parliament Floriade's footprint should be refined, calling for an end to the eight or nine months of disruption caused by planting and construction each year.
He said the authority supports Floriade but changes are needed to the current footprint.
"The number of trees that have died in the Floriade footprint is higher than other similar areas of the National Estate," the documents state.
"It is likely the prolonged activities during the establishment, conduct and demobilisation of Floriade are the main contributors to the higher death rate of trees in that area."
An interim arrangement for the 2016 festival, which will start on September 17, will have "limitations in certain areas and a considerably reduced footprint for in ground plantings."
ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr said on Wednesday the government was continuing to explore options for future years.
"The licence agreement between the ACT government and the National Capital Authority to hold Floriade in Commonwealth Park expired at the end of 2015.
"The NCA has agreed to the staging of Floriade in Commonwealth Park in 2016, albeit with a significant re-configured footprint," Mr Barr said.
"The ACT government is still finalising the exact footprint of the 2016 event with the NCA. Construction of permitted displays is expected to commence shortly."
The government has previously made announcements about Floriade themes and other information during the winter months.
The introduction of pay parking in the parliamentary triangle has left the ACT government facing huge parking costs during the festival at Commonwealth Park. Last year, parking alone cost the territory more than $123,000.
In 2014 the ACT government copped a $57,000 parking bill from the National Capital Authority.
More than 481,850 visitors attended Floriade in 2014, the largest crowd ever.
The event cost the ACT government about $5 million in 2014, including staff costs and NightFest. It brought an estimated $47 million in economic benefits to the city.
