Assessment of the ecological status of street plantings in Balashikha city, Moscow region

Abstract

The level of urbanization in the world is increasing by the year. In Russia, it amounts to about 75%. Green spaces play a leading role in the process of maintaining the ecological balance of urbanized territories. One of the main sources of environmental pollution in cities are cars. Monitoring the condition of woody plants in outdoor plantings is an important part of assessing the condition of urban systems. The purpose of the work is to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the ecological state of tree plantations in the street plantings of Balashikha, a city, which is a part of Moscow agglomeration. The study was carried out in 2019-2021 in 20 streets of Balashikha. The species composition, the vital state of tree and shrub vegetation in street plantings according to Alekseev’s methodology and winter hardiness according to Lapin and Sidneva’s methodology were revealed. The following results were obtained: in the street plantings of Balashikha there are 21 species of trees and shrubs, the average age of tree plantations is 30-40 years, the most common ones are Аcеr nеgundo L., Аcеr plаtаnoidеs L., Tiliа cordаtа Mill., single - Acer tataricum L., Pinus sylvestris L., Sorbus aucuparia (L.) Gaertn., Ulmus laevis Pall. In order to maintain sustainable development, it is necessary to change the strategy of urban greening (implement a more diverse species composition, conduct monitoring studies involving not only utilities, but also researchers dealing with urban ecology problems, apply modern maintenance technologies. Recommendations are given on the introduction of new types of woody plants for outdoor plantings to improve the ecological situation in Balashikha.