Inventory of Green Spaces and Woody Plants in the Urban Landscape in Ariogala

Abstract

Background and purpose: Regulation of urban greenery design, management and protection was approved in 2008 in Lithuania after the Green Space Law was passed, allowing protection of public green spaces and woody plants. Protection of these resources first requires an inventory, and we have created a digital database that will help in management of urban green spaces. Materials and methods: An inventory of green spaces and woody plants was conducted in the public urban territory of Ariogala, using GIS technology. A digital cartographic database was created using ArcGis 9.1 software. Results and conclusions: Most of the woody plants in the survey area are deciduous trees, and the survey reenvironmental condition of the green spaces and to ensure that the size of the green spaces conforms to valid standards [1]. The inventory of green spaces in Lithuanian towns using GIS technology was launched in 2005. An upgraded methodology of forest inventory, which is more appropriate for individual trees, small tree groups and alleys, was used for inventory of green spaces in towns. This article analyses the results of the green space inventory of the town of Ariogala. MATERIALS AND METHODS Study Area The inventory was conducted in Ariogala, which is located in the central part of Lithuania (55° 15′ 54.06″ N, 23° 28′ 06.21″ E). sults highlighted the major green space management problems. Often, planted trees grow under power lines, and their crowns touch the power cables. Near blocks of flats, trees are often in the wrong place-planted too close to buildings, trees shade windows and their roots heave pavers and penetrate building foundations. According to the inventory, street trees sustain the most damage, most commonly showing injuries on their trunks and roots. Leaves of Aesculus hipocastanum L. show massive damage from Cameraria ohridella Deschka & Dimić, and Tilia cordata Mill. are damaged by Cercospora microsora Sacc. T. cordata is a favourite city tree, but is susceptible to infestation and when damaged appears unsightly, ending its vegetation period very early. The inventory of green spaces also showed that there are sufficient public parks.

Urban Vegetation Mapping Using Hyperspectral Imagery and Spectral Library

“…Ten trees species and a short vegetation sample were extracted from the library as follow; 6 deciduous trees including Horse chestnut, European beech, Linden, Maple, Mountain ash, Oak, 4 coniferous trees including Norway spruce, Lime glow, Scots pine, Arborvitae, and 1 green short grass/lawn specie, used in public parks and football field in Kaunas. The ground truth polygons were extracted from a tree inventory of 2012 [9].…”

Ultra-Light Aircraft-Based Hyperspectral and Colour-Infrared Imaging to Identify Deciduous Tree Species in an Urban Environment

“…[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. Thus, to keep such information up to date and to use it for spatial planning and management, inventories of green spaces in urban environments have been introduced, e.g., the urban green space inventory in Kaunas City, Lithuania, first launched in 2012, which was chosen as a study area for our research [17]. It aimed to map and catalogue individual trees, small groups of trees, and alleys, and estimate their dendrometric characteristics, as well as the health condition of trees to support spatial planners in making effective management decisions.…”

“…The application of remote sensing based on the use of satellite images and aerial photography has already long been operational in inventorying trees or groups of trees in cities [8,[18][19][20][21][22][23][24]. Trees have also been manually mapped using orthographic maps originating from aerial photography in Lithuanian inventories of urban trees [17]. However, the methodological framework for the urban application of remote sensing is primarily taken from conventional forest inventories, which may fail in different environments.…”