Arborização urbana viária na cidade de Chapecó-SC: composição florística e diagnóstico dos conflitos com equipamentos urbanos

Abstract

The expansion of cities has replaced the natural landscape with the built one, the main consequence being environmental degradation. The distance between man and nature in these environments harms public health. Afforestation is an essential component of the urban landscape, as it provides ecosystem services to promote health and well-being, maintain biodiversity, and, when well-planned, provide pleasant environments full of natural beauty. This study aimed to carry out and interpret the inventory of urban tree planting on the roads with tree-lined medians in the central area of the municipality of Chapecó-SC. A floristic inventory was carried out of all the trees in the study area, recording information on the species identification, location, and geographical origin and diagnosing conflicts with urban structures. The survey was carried out between December 2022 and March 2023. A total of 4,680 trees were identified, represented by 67 species and 25 families, of which 35.8% are native to Santa Catarina state, 13.4 are native to Brazil, and 50.7% are exotic species. Regarding the number of individuals, 38.8% belong to native species from Santa Catarina, 11.7% are of Brazilian native species, and 49.5% belong to exotic species. The most abundant species were: Tipuana tipu (tipuana) at 20%, Handroanthus heptaphyllus (ipê-roxo) at 16.8%, and Jacaranda mimosifolia (jacarandá-mimoso) at 10.6%, together representing 47.4% of all individuals. The most significant conflicts were the restricted area of beds and root outcrops (74.8%), the need for pruning in public transport corridors (37.3%), the deposition of fleshy fruit on roads (10.4%), and the interception of public lighting (8.1%). According to the identification of conflicts, it is pertinent to corroborate that the lack of public environmental policies is one of the main generators of problems associated with urban roadside afforestation in the study area. Proper planning and implementing tree species native to the local biome are practical strategies for changing this problem.