That’s a lot of green.

Tavern on the Green must pay $30,000 to remove a 160-year-old elm tree because authorities fear a deadly fungus could destroy Central Park’s green spaces.

The Park Service recently ordered the felling of the historic Upper West Side elm tree after discovering that it was infected with Dutch elm disease, a tree-killing pathogen.

“I personally care for it, and the fact that this tree was cut down is really devastating,” David Salama, operator of Tavern on the Green, told the Post. “Very sad.”

Salama said that although the giant tree is located on public park land, he and his partner Jim Caiola are responsible for clearing it under their license to operate the iconic restaurant with the city.

The decision to cut down the tree was made after the city’s parks department and the Central Park Conservancy diagnosed it as infected with the disease.

“NYC Parks’ top priority is preserving existing trees, and tree removal is always our last resort,” a department spokesperson said in a statement. “To minimize the spread of the disease to the other elm trees in the city, immediate action will be taken, resulting in the tree’s removal.”

Although the city does not keep records of the tree’s exact age, it is believed to be about 160 years old. This was first reported in the Westside Rag.

So far, the Nature Conservation and Parks Administration has girdled the tree above the root base to prevent further spread of the disease and thus provide a temporary stopgap measure before the tree is removed entirely, officials said.

The locals were sad when the tree disappeared.

“It’s pretty annoying that we have to cut it down,” said Leo, the owners’ teenage son, who works at the restaurant in the summer.

Mark Dye, 51, of the Upper West Side, drinks his coffee in the shade of a tree most days.

“It’s a shame. It’s a beautiful tree, it has so much character,” he told the Post. “I’m not a tree hugger, but the tree defines the park.”

Arborists with the Central Park Conservancy inspect the roughly 2,500 elm trees year-round, looking for signs that they may be infected with the devastating fungal pathogen. When an infection is discovered, a race begins to save the tree before it’s too late.

“Depending on the size of the tree, within a week we may not be able to save it,” said K. Satterthwaite, who helps survey trees in Central Park, according to a newspaper article the Nature Conservancy posted on its website in April.

“If we notice something that looks suspicious, we climb in or use our forklift to examine it immediately.”

Although the Nature Conservation Authority injects a fungicide into the root bases of the elms to prevent infection, between 15 and 30 elms are lost to the disease in the park each year.

“It’s a loss,” Salama said of the latest elm to fall victim to the wood chipper – but he noted that the restaurant plans to plant another tree in its place.