In 2020, the Moscow Government will begin monitoring urban trees using instruments created by RUDN scientists stated the head of the Department of Nature Management and Environmental Protection of the city of Moscow Anton Kulbachevsky at the 20th anniversary meeting of the Board of the department.
The meeting was attended by leading experts in the field of environmental protection and sustainable development. One of the key topics was devoted to the issue of urban green infrastructure. Moscow is one of the leaders among the world megacities by the number of green spaces. Over the past 10 years, more than 6 million trees and shrubs have been planted in Moscow, and by the end of 2020, the city’s green fund will be replenished with another 24 thousand young seedlings.
Elvira Dovletyarova the Head of the Department of landscape design and sustainable ecosystems of the Agrarian and Technological Institute of RUDN University mentioned the key role of the tree in the life of the city and the citizens. She noted that over the past few years, society has changed dramatically the attitude to green spaces – people began to understand that trees, shrubs and other plants positively affect the quality of life and health, and therefore require protection and respect.
In 2020 a new Moscow green management system will be created. Special devices invented by the SUNLab scientists led by Riccardo Valentini will monitor the state of large green spaces.
“We want to improve the quality of green spaces in the city, extend their life. Therefore, we plan to introduce personalized plant care. The experiment began on the territory of the RUDN University and some central city streets, ” announced Anton Kulbachevsky.
The decision to use Tree Talkers sensors in the creation of a new monitoring system was facilitated by the successful results of an experiment conducted by the scientistsof SUNLab in conjunction with the Moscow Department of Nature Management in 2018-2019. As part of this study, 217 devices were installed on various trees at 7 experimental sites within the capital. Tree Talkers monitored the state of plants under different weather conditions.
Currently, more than 200 devices monitor the status of plantings on the campus of RUDN University, in the Botanical Garden of Moscow State University, on the Bolotnaya squere, in the forest zone of the Timiryazev University and in other places. Monitoring of Moscow trees is part of a large study of urban green areas, in the future it is planned to create a unique network to monitor the green spaces around the world.