Methodology of functional-ecological monitoring of objects and landscaping of Moscow

Abstract

The role of urban areas in the global land-use structure is permanently growing. Urban ecosystems differ principally from natural ones in formation conditions, driving factors and functioning. Green areas play a key role in city structure, performing important environmental, ornamental and health functions. The methodology widely accepted so far for the environmental control of urban green zones is not able to consider multiple functions of urban areas as well as their unique spatial variability. Herewith we propose a new approach for functional-environmental monitoring of urban green zones in Moscow city, including not only static, but also dynamic parameters and considering their spatial variability and profile distribution. The proposed approach was tested for the case of six green areas within the Sadovoe Ring, Central administrative district of the Moscow city. It was demonstrated that the proposed methodology was much more informative than conventional ones and also better support taking optimal decisions in the sphere of maintaining environmental quality of urban ecosystems.