There are numerous actions to help combat global warming. The main one is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. But what do we do with the gases already in the atmosphere?
Forests absorb CO2 from the atmosphere during the photosynthesis process. However, due to increased human expansion and urbanization, we do not have room for forests. How can we help prevent global warming?
Positive effects of urban vegetation
In cities, spatial planning is a necessary tool to distribute spaces and assign functionality and specific land uses. Good land use planning cannot be complete without parks and trees in urban areas. Urban vegetation offers many benefits to the environment of cities and contributes to mitigating the effects of climate change in Spain, thus highlighting the importance of vegetation in the fight against global warming.
One of the positive effects is to provide recreational spaces for the urban population where children can become familiar with nature and spend the afternoons outdoors, a very healthy habit for our current technology. In addition, these green areas also contribute to the strategies of adaptation to climate change, highlighting the importance of vegetation in the fight against global warming.
Another effect is to improve the climatic conditions since the vegetation works as a filter and brake at wind speed and does not allow as many dust particles to be carried away, thus causing soil erosion. This has a positive impact on air quality, as mentioned in the article on air pollution, highlighting the relationship between vegetation and environmental quality, and the advantages of urban forest parks against global warming.
Urban plants also function as noise absorber. Traffic, jams, high noise pollution levels, etc. are the main sources of noise, and vegetation acts as a sound barrier, just as panels on highways do for nearby homes. Noise reduction is another of the Advantages of urban forest parks against global warming.
Last would reduce environmental pollution Since plants absorb the fumes emitted by motor vehicles, they would reduce the polluting effect of SMOG (an effect that looks like fog in the morning when viewing the city from a distance), thus improving the health of citizens.
Quick Urban Forestation Project
It's about promoting the implantation of urban forest parks with autochthonous species. These techniques don't require irrigation and would save municipal governments significant water and maintenance costs. This initiative could be an example of how green spaces help mitigate the effects of climate change in Spain.
This project has been featured in The Casa Encendida in Madrid. The project's objective, co-funded by the Life+ Program, is to create more green spaces in cities through best practices in urban forest implementation, participation, and management. The creation of these green areas can facilitate a more sustainable future.
According to the data studied, the territories dedicated to green space by surface area of the municipal urban area of the cities of Spain are only between 2 and 5%. However, in Anglo-Saxon territory they dedicate almost 30% of the territory to green spaces. This difference underlines the need to promote green areas in our cities, which is crucial to combat global warming.
The concept of urban forests is more developed in the Anglo-Saxon world than in the Mediterranean world.
Implantation technique without watering
To save costs for municipal administrations and save on water in the face of droughts, a plan for the implementation of green spaces has been proposed no need for irrigation. Among the techniques that have been used to test the heat resistance of plants is the implantation of mycorrhizae, which is a fungus that helps the plant retain water and become more vigorous. This method is also related to the efficiency of the water treatment technologies in arid areas.
A method of water retainers will also be implemented. These are polymers that are used in the roots of trees to be able to retain moisture when it rains. This innovation is essential to addressing the challenges of climate change.
The benefits of creating urban forests are not only the creation of microclimates with respect to a garden, but also help clean the air and the floor, and in the recreational aspect in terms of society. People enjoy a forest more than a park without trees. This phenomenon is also observed in the context of heat stress in cities.
There are also other advantages and benefits, apart from the environmental ones, such as social and economic ones as they can be the use of pruning from forests to produce biomass energy or for compost, which is also a great way to take advantage of resources.
This initiative can be consulted on the Quick Urban Forestación website.
