SCOPEOFHIGHEREDUCATIONANDRESEARCHINURBANFORESTRY,LANDSCAPE&URBANBIODIVERSITY

SUBMITTED BY-

ANCHAL GARG (05)

PRIYANKA(16)

ANUSHREE(25)

Higher education and research are very helpful in urbanforestry as -(BRINGING NATURE INTO CITY- main aim)

1. It creates awareness among all to preserve the biodiversity.2. It helps in the formulation of policies and acts.3. It helps in better planning and management of the urban landscape.4. It helps in designing the urban landscape in a better way.5. It helps in arising various preserving methods, technologies and

tools for management.6. By better understanding about the urban metabolism and urban

ecology, helps proper management.7. With the help of research, we can find many species of plant

which help in the pollution reduction of that place.8. Selection and establishment of tree resources and other vegetation

for urban environments.

Fig: Estimation of area coverage by tree

National and International efforts for higher education andresearch in urban forestry-

Education and training are crucial for developing the capacities needed forsound and successful urban forestry. It is important to train specialists whoare able to look at urban tree resources as a whole and as a multifunctionalresource, and who are aware of the contributions that different disciplinesand professions can make.

Education and training can take many different forms and occur at manydifferent levels. Unfortunately, higher education (i.e. at Bachelor level orhigher) on urban forestry is not yet very well developed.

According to a survey, 180 educational institutions in 28 European countriesoffered 31 full degree programme and 191 courses and modules that dealtwith (elements of) urban forestry (Andersen et al., 2002).

An increase in the number of programs and courses offered, however, wasnoted. Several urban forestry Master’s degree programme have recentlybeen set up or are under development, including an international Master’sprogramme in urban forestry and urban greening in Denmark and Sweden.

Higher urban forestry education is also uncommon and fragmented outsideEurope, with the US as an exception. In the US, urban forestry has becomeestablished as a field of higher education and the number of programs hasgrown over time (Miller, 2001).

Developments in higher urban forestry-related education are evident in otherparts of the world. Plans exist, for example, in Malaysia and other Asiancountries to set up urban forestry curricula, possibly in twinning withprogrammes in Western countries. As part of the bilateral environmentalcooperation between Denmark and Malaysia, the main Malaysian andDanish forest research and education organisations started a twinning projectin 2003. The twinning aims to strengthen the cooperation between the twocountries in aspects of forest research, education, policy and management asa means of promoting sustainable forest management. Urban forestry andurban greening is a main topic of the twinning. Both countries are in the

process of developing higher educational programmes on urban forestry andurban greening, and are exchanging experiences, staff and students.

Moreover, with the assistance of the International Society of Arboriculture,Malaysian tree care professionals are being trained and for the first timeever internationally certified.Continued professional education of itsworldwide membership of experts is a main objective of the InternationalSociety of Arboriculture (ISA). Professionals can be granted, forexample,the status of ISA Certified Arborist, a professional vocationalqualification obtained by passing a theoretical examination on tree care andmanagement. Several countries have adopted this scheme or developed theirown, with differing success (Johnston, 2001). colleges. This aspect will beintegrated in the entire educational process."

NCERT developed a national curriculum framework in late 2000, whichdescribed desired learning outcomes for students at all levels in the system.The framework identified Environmental Studies as one of the subjects atlower primary level. Environmental Studies is one of the prescribed areas ofthe official curriculum in primary school and is allotted twenty percent ofschool time. As students move up the educational ladder environmentaleducation as a specific subject disappears but integrated science is taughtand demands that students reflect on observations made on the environmentincluding the balance of nature and population impacts on natural resources.

Management criteria on the basis of higher education & research-

1. Statistical techniques-various types of statistical techniqueshelp us in estimating the growth statistics of a particular plant ina particular area. By these techniques, we can differentiatebetween the total green spaces in particular area.

2. Study of urban metabolism- the pathway by which trees andplants metabolize is not very simple. It is a complicated process.By this we can estimate various inputs and outputs of a city.

3. Remote sensing and GIS understanding- by remote sensingwe can take the satellite imaginary, which help us in evaluatingthe temporal variations in a particular area by various

resolution. GIS tools helps in estimating the total green cover inthat particular area.

4. Mathematical computation- various exponential models helpin estimating the future demand and future value of theproductive species. Biomass estimation, urban plants species,their growth pattern and energy budget estimation as well ascalculation of urban ecological footprint are very much helpful.

5. Ecology of urban organism- if we know about the biodiversitypresent in an ecosystem, various invasive species and biotichomogenization, interactions of these species, and the urbaninfectious diseases, the knowledge of these will help inunderstanding the planting.

6. Urban landscape designing- if we know proper knowledgeabout total space in an urban ecosystem, whether it is grayspace, green space, waste space, or aquatic space then propermanagement can be made. Green corridors can be made alongriverside and roadside, so that proper utilization of urban landcan be done.

7. Problem of pollution in urban areas- many plant species andtrees have various bioremediation mechanisms in order tocontrol the pollution by absorbing these harmful chemicals.

GIS software-

1. CITYgreen- it is a GIS-based software tool that analyzes the ecological and

economic benefits of tree canopy and other landscape features. The software calculates dollar benefits for ecosystem services

(e.g., stormwater runoff, air and water pollution removal, andcarbon sequestration and storage) provided by land cover withina specified geographic area.

CITYgreen, developed by American Forests, is an extension toESRI’s (Environmental Systems Research Institute) ArcGIS andworks with Windows-based PCs that have ArcGIS.

The analysis is based on a land cover dataset derived from eitheraerial photography or satellite imagery and data specific to thearea such as soil type, climate, and rainfall. The dataset is first“classified” into various land cover features, such as tree canopy,open space, impervious surfaces, water, etc., before CITYgreencan analyze the data.

One of the most powerful features of CITYgreen is the ability toanalyze alternate land cover scenarios. Starting with a currentland cover map, users can calculate the effects of future landcover change before those changes are made.

With land cover maps from earlier time periods, users can alsocompare how land cover has changed over time and how thesechanges affect the land’s ecosystem services. This becomes animportant decision-making tool.

Communities can see how historic land cover change trendsaffected air and water quality and use this information to guidetheir land-use planning in the future.

2. i-Tree-

It is developed by U.S. Forest Service Research, State and Private Forestry,and other cooperators, i-Tree is offered free of charge to anyone wishing touse it. The i-Tree software suite includes the following urban forest analysistools:• UFORE (Urban Forest Effects Model) is designed to use standardizedfield data from randomly located plots throughout a community and localhourly air pollution and meteorological data to quantify urban foreststructure and numerous urban forest effects and benefits.• STRATUM (Street Tree Resource Analysis Tool for Urban ForestManagers) uses a sample or existing tree inventory to describe tree

management needs and quantify the value of annual environmental andaesthetic benefits such as energy conservation, air quality improvement,CO2 reduction, stormwater control, and property value increases.

Fig: green color shows potential planting sites by GIS tools

Plantation can reduce the toxic pollutants

many plants absorb these heavy metals and recalcitrant substances, which comefrom vehicular emissions.

Urban landscapedesigning

Role of an arborist- Arboristsare trained professionalsknowledgeable and equipped toprovide proper tree care. Theyprovide a variety to services tomaintain trees. The InternationalSociety of Arborists (ISA) certifiesindividuals who have at leastthree years of experience and have passed a comprehensive examination. They arealso required to continue their education in order to maintain their certification. ISAcertification is a nongovernmental, voluntary process. It is an internal self-regulatingdevice administered by ISA, and therefore cannot guarantee or ensure the quality ofperformance. Certification provides a measurable assessment of an individual’sknowledge and competence required to provide proper tree care.

Role of Architects- With rapidly growing public interest in green building design,accompanied by concerns about urban heat islands and climate change, not tomention the increased popularity of the Leadership in Energy and EnvironmentalDesign (LEED) standards for buildings (see www.usgbc.org), architects are currentlyin a position to lead the discussion about how a building is sited both on its site aswell as in the greater pattern of urban design to incorporate many benefits of urbanforestry, including energy use, aesthetics, networks of green space, and evenstrategic placement to enhance site, block, neighborhood, and community greeninfrastructure programming.

Role of Engineers- Public works departments are largely the domain of civilengineers. Other types of engineers can interact with urban foresters as well toachieve urban environmental quality goals. Transportation engineers have excellentopportunities in this regard because of the many ways in which trees and roaddesign affect each other, such as sight lines, traffic calming, and safety. Miller (1997)

details a number ofengineering uses of urbanforestry, such as airpollution reduction, noisebuffering, erosion control,and stormwatermanagement. As citiesmove away from theirreliance on grayinfrastructure, engineerswill have newopportunities tocollaborate with foresters to integrate green infrastructure into their package ofsolutions.

Role of Consultants- Every one of the professions noted so far includes somenumber of consultants working either independently or as large firms, particularly inthe engineering and architectural fields. They can serve either to fill gaps inmunicipal staff expertise or to supply short-term needs for specific kinds ofexpertise. In situations where the community feels that developers should bear theexpense of hiring an outside consultant to review or monitor some technical aspectof a development proposal, development ordinances can spell out what servicesmust be provided (e.g., certifying compliance with particular standards) and whowill pay for them.

CONCLUSION

Hence from above, it is concluded that a good knowledge about biodiversity, goodmethods of species selection, good architecture practices, a well define knowledgeabout total space, by integrating new technologies in urban management, engineeringmethods and by the formulation and implementation of various policies and laws thequality of urban life can be improved.