urban forestry

1. SCOPE OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND
RESEARCH IN URBAN FORESTRY,
LANDSCAPE & URBAN BIODIVERSITY
SUBMITTED BY-
ANCHAL GARG (05)
PRIYANKA(16)
ANUSHREE(25)

2. Higher education and research are very helpful in urban
forestry 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

3. National and International efforts for higher education and
research in urban forestry-
 Education and training are crucial for developing the capacities needed for
sound and successful urban forestry. It is important to train specialists who
are able to look at urban tree resources as a whole and as a multifunctional
resource, and who are aware of the contributions that different disciplines
and professions can make.
 Education and training can take many different forms and occur at many
different levels. Unfortunately, higher education (i.e. at Bachelor level or
higher) on urban forestry is not yet very well developed.
 According to a survey, 180 educational institutions in 28 European countries
offered 31 full degree programme and 191 courses and modules that dealt
with (elements of) urban forestry (Andersen et al., 2002).
 An increase in the number of programs and courses offered, however, was
noted. Several urban forestry Master’s degree programme have recently
been set up or are under development, including an international Master’s
programme in urban forestry and urban greening in Denmark and Sweden.
 Higher urban forestry education is also uncommon and fragmented outside
Europe, with the US as an exception. In the US, urban forestry has become
established as a field of higher education and the number of programs has
grown over time (Miller, 2001).
 Developments in higher urban forestry-related education are evident in other
parts of the world. Plans exist, for example, in Malaysia and other Asian
countries to set up urban forestry curricula, possibly in twinning with
programmes in Western countries. As part of the bilateral environmental
cooperation between Denmark and Malaysia, the main Malaysian and
Danish forest research and education organisations started a twinning project
in 2003. The twinning aims to strengthen the cooperation between the two
countries in aspects of forest research, education, policy and management as
a means of promoting sustainable forest management. Urban forestry and
urban greening is a main topic of the twinning. Both countries are in the

4. process of developing higher educational programmes on urban forestry and
urban 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 time
ever internationally certified.Continued professional education of its
worldwide membership of experts is a main objective of the International
Society of Arboriculture (ISA). Professionals can be granted, for
example,the status of ISA Certified Arborist, a professional vocational
qualification obtained by passing a theoretical examination on tree care and
management. Several countries have adopted this scheme or developed their
own, with differing success (Johnston, 2001). colleges. This aspect will be
integrated in the entire educational process."
 NCERT developed a national curriculum framework in late 2000, which
described desired learning outcomes for students at all levels in the system.
The framework identified Environmental Studies as one of the subjects at
lower primary level. Environmental Studies is one of the prescribed areas of
the official curriculum in primary school and is allotted twenty percent of
school time. As students move up the educational ladder environmental
education as a specific subject disappears but integrated science is taught
and demands that students reflect on observations made on the environment
including 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 techniques
help us in estimating the growth statistics of a particular plant in
a particular area. By these techniques, we can differentiate
between the total green spaces in particular area.
2. Study of urban metabolism- the pathway by which trees and
plants 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 sensing
we can take the satellite imaginary, which help us in evaluating
the temporal variations in a particular area by various

5. resolution. GIS tools helps in estimating the total green cover in
that particular area.
4. Mathematical computation- various exponential models help
in estimating the future demand and future value of the
productive species. Biomass estimation, urban plants species,
their growth pattern and energy budget estimation as well as
calculation of urban ecological footprint are very much helpful.
5. Ecology of urban organism- if we know about the biodiversity
present in an ecosystem, various invasive species and biotic
homogenization, interactions of these species, and the urban
infectious diseases, the knowledge of these will help in
understanding the planting.
6. Urban landscape designing- if we know proper knowledge
about total space in an urban ecosystem, whether it is gray
space, green space, waste space, or aquatic space then proper
management can be made. Green corridors can be made along
riverside and roadside, so that proper utilization of urban land
can be done.
7. Problem of pollution in urban areas- many plant species and
trees have various bioremediation mechanisms in order to
control 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, and
carbon sequestration and storage) provided by land cover within
a specified geographic area.

6.  CITYgreen, developed by American Forests, is an extension to
ESRI’s (Environmental Systems Research Institute) ArcGIS and
works with Windows-based PCs that have ArcGIS.
 The analysis is based on a land cover dataset derived from either
aerial photography or satellite imagery and data specific to the
area 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 CITYgreen
can analyze the data.
 One of the most powerful features of CITYgreen is the ability to
analyze alternate land cover scenarios. Starting with a current
land cover map, users can calculate the effects of future land
cover change before those changes are made.
 With land cover maps from earlier time periods, users can also
compare how land cover has changed over time and how these
changes affect the land’s ecosystem services. This becomes an
important decision-making tool.
 Communities can see how historic land cover change trends
affected air and water quality and use this information to guide
their 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 to
use it. The i-Tree software suite includes the following urban forest analysis
tools:
• UFORE (Urban Forest Effects Model) is designed to use standardized
field data from randomly located plots throughout a community and local
hourly air pollution and meteorological data to quantify urban forest
structure and numerous urban forest effects and benefits.
• STRATUM (Street Tree Resource Analysis Tool for Urban Forest
Managers) uses a sample or existing tree inventory to describe tree

7. management needs and quantify the value of annual environmental and
aesthetic 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 come
from vehicular emissions.

8. Urban landscape
designing
Role of an arborist- Arborists
are trained professionals
knowledgeable and equipped to
provide proper tree care. They
provide a variety to services to
maintain trees. The International
Society of Arborists (ISA) certifies
individuals who have at least
three years of experience and have passed a comprehensive examination. They are
also required to continue their education in order to maintain their certification. ISA
certification is a nongovernmental, voluntary process. It is an internal self-regulating
device administered by ISA, and therefore cannot guarantee or ensure the quality of
performance. Certification provides a measurable assessment of an individual’s
knowledge 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 to
mention the increased popularity of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design (LEED) standards for buildings (see www.usgbc.org), architects are currently
in a position to lead the discussion about how a building is sited both on its site as
well as in the greater pattern of urban design to incorporate many benefits of urban
forestry, including energy use, aesthetics, networks of green space, and even
strategic placement to enhance site, block, neighborhood, and community green
infrastructure programming.
Role of Engineers- Public works departments are largely the domain of civil
engineers. Other types of engineers can interact with urban foresters as well to
achieve urban environmental quality goals. Transportation engineers have excellent
opportunities in this regard because of the many ways in which trees and road
design affect each other, such as sight lines, traffic calming, and safety. Miller (1997)

9. details a number of
engineering uses of urban
forestry, such as air
pollution reduction, noise
buffering, erosion control,
and stormwater
management. As cities
move away from their
reliance on gray
infrastructure, engineers
will have new
opportunities to
collaborate with foresters to integrate green infrastructure into their package of
solutions.
Role of Consultants- Every one of the professions noted so far includes some
number of consultants working either independently or as large firms, particularly in
the engineering and architectural fields. They can serve either to fill gaps in
municipal staff expertise or to supply short-term needs for specific kinds of
expertise. In situations where the community feels that developers should bear the
expense of hiring an outside consultant to review or monitor some technical aspect
of a development proposal, development ordinances can spell out what services
must be provided (e.g., certifying compliance with particular standards) and who
will pay for them.
CONCLUSION
Hence from above, it is concluded that a good knowledge about biodiversity, good
methods of species selection, good architecture practices, a well define knowledge
about total space, by integrating new technologies in urban management, engineering
methods and by the formulation and implementation of various policies and laws the
quality of urban life can be improved.