SUSTENTABILIDAD AMBIENTAL Y CULTURAL DEL ARBOLADO EN UNA CIUDAD OASIS. EL CASO DE MENDOZA

CLAUDIA MARTÍNEZ; LUCILA BASTÍAS; GUNDA STRASSER; ALICIA CANTÓN

Catamarca, Argentina

Congreso; III Congreso Iberoamericano de Ambiente y Calidad de Vida - IV Congreso de Ambiente y Calidad de Vida; 2006

Universidad Nacional de Catamarca. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales

The city of Mendoza conforms an oasis like environment in the semi desert context of its region. Besides, it is the result of man´s afford to turn a rough landscape into an ambit suited for human development. This condition springs from the addition to the urban network of an urban forest which live-up along an side of city blocks and it is sustained by an artificial system of irrigation ditches. Presently, the urban forest present noticeable signs of deteriorations derived from neglect and lack of compromise from society´s different actors. The work assesses qualitatively and quantitatively the tree irrigation ditch system, by means of inquiries and the survey of its physical parameters. The results obtained yield low valuation percentages of the urban forest (17.87%) and an incipient stage of aging and decrepitude of the tree´s stock (60.60%).  The low valuation index measured and the advanced degree of deterioration of the urban greenings require the implementation of actions aimed at reverting this process and proposing education and planning strategies that promote the arbour culture and the sustainability of the system.