Collaboration Ecosystems Green Infrastructure Science

Tree Talkers network expanded with a new location in Moscow

The SUN Lab’s team in collaboration with experts from Wood expertise center “Zdorovy Les” set up new devices in Gorky Park, one of the biggest and most attended parks in Moscow city center.

Before installation, experts from Zdorovy Les conducted a local research in the park. They found out 16 poplars of the same age and size but quite different in trunk condition – most of them were strongly decayed. Visually the state of the trees was rather different from their potential sustainability and trunk health. So these trees came up as the spots for 16 Tree Talkers set up.

Collaboration Ecosystem Services Green Infrastructure Research Seminars Science

Scientists discussed the use of smart technologies in monitoring green spaces

On September 30, 2020, an international scientific seminar “Monitoring urban green infrastructures” was organized under the umbrella of the Department of Landscape Design and Sustainable Ecosystems of ATI RUDN University. The event was held in an online format and was devoted to a number of issues in the field of monitoring green infrastructure in cities using IoT technologies.

Experts and participants discussed topics such as express methods for assessing the physiological state of green spaces, the influence of environmental factors on the state of plants, timely diagnosis of plant diseases and the development of methods for plant protection. Among the participants of the seminar are experts from the Smart Urban Nature laboratory Vyacheslav Vasenev, Alexey Yaroslavtsev, Vasily Brykov, Yuri Dvornikov and Viktor Matasov as well as partners from the Russian Research Institute of Phytopathology, N.V. Tsitsin Main Botanical Garden of RAS and other organizations.

Collaboration Data and Software Ecosystems Green Infrastructure Research Seminars Science

International Scientific Seminar “Monitoring of Urban Green Infrastructure”

SUN Lab of RUDN University invites to the international scientific seminar “Monitoring of urban green infrastructure”, which will be held online on the Microsoft Teams platform on September 30. The meeting starts at 15:30 Moscow time. The working language is English.

The seminar will focus on several issues in the field of monitoring of urban green infrastructure using IoT technologies. Experts and participants will discuss such topics as express methods for assessing the physiological state of green infrastructure, the influence of environmental factors on the state of plants, timely diagnosis of plant diseases and the development of methods for plant protection.

Climate Collaboration Ecosystem Services Green Infrastructure Soils

SUN Lab in cooperation with Landscape Engineering Guild assessed ecosystem services for a new residential complex in Moscow

Smart Urban Nature lab together with the Landscape Engineering Guild, has implemented a project to assess ecosystem services for one of Moscow’s residential complexes.

Moscow architectural bureau UTRO, whose specialists developed the concept of improvement for the residential complex “Metropolia”, strove for a reasonable balance between the purpose of the object, the needs of people and the environment. Thus, the main goal in developing the concept was to bring nature to the city center to create a comfortable living environment. With the proximity of major roads, the impact of the urban heat island, and the increasing number of extreme weather events associated with climate change, the regulatory functions of green infrastructure seem to be the most significant.

Climate Science

The first service in Russia for predicting heat risks in cities was developed by SUN Lab

SUN Lab’s climatology team with the support of the Russia Science Foundation is developing the first russian system for predicting heat risks for urban residents. The “Heat in Russia – 2020” project applies an experimental technology, based on modeling the thermal balance of the human body in various meteorological situations, and allows to identify “heat waves” and indicate the most dangerous time periods.

Climate Collaboration Ecosystem Services Ecosystems Green Infrastructure Research Seminars Soils

Theory and practice cooperate for sustainable urban development

On April 29, 2020 a round-table “Urban Ecology. Theory for practice” was held in an online format. The main topic was focused on the interaction of theorists in urban ecology and practitioners in urban development and landscape architecture. The participants of the round table – researchers, architects and designers of urban environment – presented their projects and discussed the features and prospects of communication between researchers of urban ecosystems and specialists of Russian urban planning and improvement. The discussion focused on the impact of environmental data of modern cities on the work of urban decision makers. The event was organized by Smart Urban Nature Laboratory of RUDN University and the Guild of Landscape Engineers (Moscow).

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Science Soils

SunLab scientists give recommendations for urban gardening

An analysis of urban gardens contaminated with lead and arsenic shows that traditional soil cleaning methods are ineffective. Gardening can be safe if regularly check the land with express monitoring devices and plant vegetables on raised beds. Research results were published in the Science of the Total Environment journal. This work was supported by the Russian Science Foundation.