27
Tree density
Average tree density in Gandhinagar Municipal
Area is 152 trees per hectare which is the highest
in Gujarat and perhaps in the country also. The
average tree density in Gandhinagar city area is
almost ten times the average tree density in the
non-forest areas of Gujarat.
In eight major cities-Municipal Corporations,
the average tree density is about 28.6 trees/ha
and Gandhinagar has density over six times of
the tree density in the major cities in Gujarat.
Out of eight Municipal Corporations in Gujarat,
only three of them-Gandhinagar (152 trees/
ha), Vadodara (45.8 trees/ha) and Bhavnagar
(49.5trees/ha) have adequate tree cover above
the average.
Gandhinagar - a green city
Relative assessment of tree cover or tree density
compared to the greenest city in the world is not
available and it is difficult to describe relative
status of tree cover in Gandhinagar. Also, status
of tree cover in the cities of India is not available
in absence of tree counting there. The Forest
Survey of India, Dehradun has provided the
status of forest and tree cover in the two cities-
Table-13: Tree cover in important cities in India
Name of city
Total
geographical
area (sq. km.)
Forest and tree cover
(sq. km.)
Total tree and
forest cover (sq.
km)
Percent of
geographical
area
Dense
open
Delhi
1483
56
120
177
11.9%
Chandigadh
114
11
6
17
14.9%
Gandhinagar
57
21
10
31
53.9%
Analysis of tree composition in Gandhinagar
Distribution of trees in different girth classes
Girth in cm
Number of trees
Girth in cm
Number of trees
10-30 cm
22,0150
121-150 cm
27,410
31-60 cm
306,310
151-200 cm
14,370
61-90 cm
212,890
201-250 cm
2,870
91-120 cm
81,360
250 and above
1,310
Delhi and Chandigadh, which are considered
among the greenest cities in India. The status
of forest and tree cover within boundary of the
three cities-Delhi, Chandigadh and Gandhinagar
is given in Table-13.
From the Tables below, it is clear that over half
of the geographical area of Gandhinagar is
under tree and forest cover whereas none of
the other two green cities have even 15% of
geographical area under tree and forest cover.
In other words, tree density in Gandhinagar
is much higher than the tree density in the
other green cities-Delhi and Chandigadh. If co-
relation between tree density and tree cover, as
observed in Gandhinagar, is applied to cities of
Chandigadh and Delhi, the densities of trees in
these cities should be about 42 trees /ha and
35 trees/ha
,
respectively. Logically, it appears
that Gandhinagar is perhaps the greenest city in
India but its status in the world is not known. In
term of tree density, the capital of Gujarat may
be a strong candidate for greenest city in the
world. Being a non-megacity, the comparison of
tree cover in Gandhinagar with other major city
may not be logical.
