Journal Article

Improvement in the Adaptation and Resilience of the Green Areas of Yerevan City to Climate–Ecological Challenges

Przybysz, Arkadiusz, Avetisyan, Gorik, Ktrakyan, Sergey, Nersisyan, Gayane, Vardanyan, Zhirayr, Sayadyan, Hovik, Grigoryan, Manik, Elbakidze, Marine, Muradyan, Nelli

2024

Overview

The services provided by green infrastructures may lead to a decrease in climate-related ecological, social, and health risks, especially in the urban environment. Consequently, the best guarantee to make this environment as safe as possible is to increase the extent of green areas, taking into consideration the functional importance, and climatic–ecological peculiarities of the area. These are also issues for the Republic of Armenia’s (RA) capital Yerevan. There the current conditions of the green areas of Yerevan city do not meet the expected requirements of the climatic–ecological development of urban areas. The green area per capita is 8 m2, which is unevenly distributed within 12 different administrative districts of Yerevan city. The aim of this research was to study the natural climatic and ecological conditions of Yerevan city and the status of the green areas of the city. The eco-biological indicators of the trees and shrubs growing in Yerevan green areas have been assessed, and the more resilient plant species have been singled out. All 12 administrative districts of Yerevan have been mapped and the green area per capita for each administrative district has been calculated. The received data have been combined with health indicators and suggestions have been made to add green areas in Yerevan according to the functional significance and sustainability of shrubby species and to their decorative and phyto-filtration properties. The city has unfavorable climatic conditions. It is located in the northern section of the subtropical climatic zone and has a distinct dry continental climate. Temperatures above +40 °C are typical, while winter is rather cold and sometimes temperatures may drop below −20 °C (in January 2008, it dropped to −27.6 °C). The amount of atmospheric precipitation has reduced by 9%. The city is counted as one of the driest urban areas of the South Caucasus. The other unfavorable ecological conditions are heavy traffic, the city’s open landfill, the concentration of industrial enterprises, large-scale construction works, etc. The atmospheric concentrations of particulate matter (PM), gases and heavy metals have been detected to exceed the permitted limits. In terms of health care, the death cases due to various diseases (acute respiratory, vascular, and cancer) have increased, which requires complex activities to reduce environmental pollution and to improve the microclimate.

• Publisher: MDPI AG
• Subject: Air pollution / Atmospheric precipitations / Cancer / Climate / Climate change / Climate Research / Climate Science / climate–ecological condition / Climatic conditions / Climatic zones / Earth and Related Environmental Sciences / Ecological conditions / Environmental pollution / Environmental Sciences / Gases / Geovetenskap och relaterad miljövetenskap / green areas / Health risks / Heavy metals / Indicator species / Indicators / Industrial pollution / Klimatforskning / Klimatvetenskap / Landfills / Metals / Microclimate / Miljövetenskap / Natural Sciences / Naturvetenskap / Outdoor air quality / Particulate emissions / Particulate matter / Plant species / Pollution control / Precipitation / Resilience / sanitary-hygienic conditions / Soil erosion / Subtropical climates / Suspended particulate matter / tree-bush composition / Urban areas / Urban environments / Waste disposal sites