16
8.1 Dimension of trees
The number of trees in higher girth classes
is relatively high compared to the normal
distribution of trees in different girth classes.
About 1.35 per cent of total trees have GBH
above 200 cm. Distribution of trees in different
girth classes in the area of eight municipal
corporations is given in Table-4.
The salient features of the tree counting in the
eight municipal corporation areas are as follows.
(i)
Eight municipal corporations support
about 33.02 lakh trees whereas 159
nagarpalikas
have 32.44 lakh trees. Thus,
about 65.45 lakh trees (2.44 % of Trees
Outside Forest-TOF) grow in cities and
towns in Gujarat state.
(ii) The tree cover in Gandhinagar is
exceptionally high and comparable with
the greenest cities in the world. Also, the
two cities - Bhavnagar and Vadodara have
adequate trees as the tree cover in these
cities was more than the other green cities
like Chandigadh and New Delhi. As per the
recent report of the FSI, Dehradun and the
study of the GEER, Foundation, amongst
all major cities in India, tree density is
highest in Gandhinagar. The green cover in
other two cities-Bhavnagar and Vadodara
is comparable with the major green cities
in India.
Table-4: Distribution of trees in different girth classes in the area of eight municipal corporations
Size
Girth classes
Number of trees
Percent
Small size trees
10-30 cm
917,840
27.8 %
30-60 cm
1,121,470
34.0 %
Medium size trees
60-90 cm
737,340
22.3 %
90-120 cm
262,330
7.9 %
Medium to large size trees
120-150 cm
138,850
4.2 %
150-200 cm
80,570
2.5 %
Large size trees
200-300 cm
39,130
1.3 %
Very large trees
Above 300 cm
4,420
Total
3,301,950
100 %
(iii) Surat has a very poor tree cover and it is
far below the average.
(iv) If tree cover norm of at least 15 percent of
geographical area is applied for megacities
such as Delhi and Chandigadh, the cities
of Surat, Rajkot, Jamnagar, Junagadh and
Amdabad have inadequate tree cover.
(v) Average green cover in the Municipal
Corporations is low. Average tree cover
per inhabitant for eight Municipal
Corporations is 8.8 m
2
/inhabitant, below
the norm.
(vi) To achieve the minimum norm of 15 %
tree cover in the mega-cities, the total
number of trees in eight municipal
corporations should increase from about
33.01 lakh trees (9.65 % of geographical
areas) to 65.71 lakh trees (minimum 15 %
of geographical areas).
(vii) The Carbon stored in the tree cover in the
urban area (municipal corporations and
municipalities) of Gujarat is about 13.5
lakh tones, which can be increased to
about 27.6 lakh tones of Carbon, if above
norm is achieved.
(viii) If adequate space is not available in the
city, intensive tree plantations may be
taken in the area of Urban Area Authorities
to make up the gap.
