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GPS Goes Arboreal03-20-08 | News

GPS Goes Arboreal




Many Shanghai’s trees are recent transplants, like the trees in People’s Park, which was built beginning in 1995.
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The Oriental cultures have a reputation for respecting their elders. This apparently extends to arboreal elders. Aged trees in Shanghai, China are looked upon as “witnesses of the city’s history.” They witnessed, for instance, the Battle of Shanghai in 1937.

That any city trees survived those dark days are a true testament to the hardiness of Mother Nature.

All the elder arbors in the city, those at least 300 years old, have been identified. These 1,566 trees are now each equipped with a GPS device. A digital tree map plots the location of each tree. The map will be shared with construction companies and the municipal construction administrators before construction starts to allow them to take measures to protect these trees from damage or from being cut down.

Clicking on any of the trees on the digital map relates the tree’s vitals—species, age and height (no, they don’t have social security numbers, yet).

The city administration has also marked the exact location of each tree on a new city map to raise public awareness of the venerable trees and the need to protect them.

The oldest of the trees date back more than 1,200 years and include gingko, London plane, camphor and lotus magnolia species.

Source: China View

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