Tag Archives: Urban green

Tree care companies that prune trees: Expertise versus business? – a commentary

By | February 9, 2026
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Tree topping: Pro Baum GmbH Göttingen in action. Credits: Pugnalom by Lab News Media LLC

Those who love city trees must defend them against their supposed "friends"—that is, against those companies that present themselves as tree specialists while simultaneously doing exactly what modern tree care clearly classifies as harmful: topping and radical crown mutilation. Because what is sold as "rejuvenation" or "preservation" is in reality the beginning of a slow, gradual tree death that takes years, but is technically… Read more »

Studying without destroying: Seminar “Crazy Roots” explores plant roots for climate-resilient cities

By | August 8, 2025
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Credits: Matteo Grando, unsplash

In a unique seminar at the Technical University of Berlin, landscape architecture students investigated the importance of plant roots for greener, more resilient cities. The seminar utilized a method from the early 20th century, developed by botanist Lore Kutschera, in which root systems are carefully exposed and drawn without damaging the plants. Over 30 students participated in the intensive seminar "Crazy Roots"... Read more »

Crown clear-cutting instead of climate protection: City administrations give priority to chainsaws – a commentary

By | August 4, 2025
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Pollarded maples in front of the Göttingen district office in Osterode am Harz. Credits: Pugnalom

In numerous cities and towns in Germany, the so-called "topping" of trees is still common practice. This involves the radical removal of a large portion of the tree crown, resulting in numerous and large cuts, often extending into the old wood. Scientific studies have shown that this practice not only significantly shortens the lifespan of trees but also causes irreversible ecological damage… Read more »

Berlin: Autonomous cleaning robot vacuums small waste in Spreebogenpark

By | June 24, 2025
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Credits: Barbara Halstenberg

An orange flashing light, a quiet vacuuming sound – a compact white box slowly moves across the grass in the middle of Spreebogenpark. Between Berlin's main train station and the Chancellery, an unusual helper is attracting attention: an autonomous cleaning robot from the Berlin waste management company (BSR), vacuuming up cigarette butts, bottle caps, and other small litter from the grass. It was developed by the company Angsa Robotics, accompanied… Read more »

Heat adaptation in cities: Joint project calls for participation

By | June 24, 2025
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Credits: Geralt, pixabay

Creating healthy living conditions in cities – this is the goal of the Innovation Community Urban Health (ICUH). This large-scale transfer project promotes innovative solutions for health-promoting, equitable, and heat-adapted urban development. The fact that cities must adapt to new situations due to advancing climate change, and that creative measures to protect against heat are required, is obvious to many. But often… Read more »

Swiss study: City trees cool even in extreme heat

By | June 23, 2025
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Credits: bluesnap, pixabay

Plane trees in cities make a significant contribution to cooling even in extreme heat – this is shown by a new study led by the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL). The next step is to determine which tree species are particularly effective at cooling. When the sun is blazing, urban trees cool their surroundings by evaporating water from their leaves. Given the… Read more »

Trees make cities more climate-resilient and people happier

By | April 16, 2025
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Credits: Johannes Plenio, pexels

Whether as protection against extreme weather or as a recreational area – green spaces play an important role for urban populations. Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have now demonstrated in two studies precisely how a diverse tree population, in particular, affects the microclimate, rainwater infiltration, and human well-being. Green spaces with trees improve air quality in cities; they are also important… Read more »

PUGNALOM interview: “Species that would be well-adapted to future climates are increasingly being banned.”

By | April 14, 2025
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Dominic Wachs on a test area_ Credits: Kevin Fuchs

The "Charter for Berlin's Urban Green Spaces" establishes a commitment by the State of Berlin to contribute to the quality and attractiveness of the city as a place to live, work, enjoy leisure and business, and as a tourist destination. However, corresponding measures have fallen victim to budget cuts in the past, so that many of Berlin's public parks, sports fields, and playgrounds are now in need of fundamental repair and modernization… Read more »

Association of German Nurseries criticizes loss of trees in cities and calls for tree planting campaign

By | April 2, 2025
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Credits: April Choitz, pexels

Following the German Weather Service's (DWD) announcement that 2024 was the warmest year on record in Germany and worldwide, the German Nursery Association (BdB) is urging the rapid planting of trees in cities to adapt them to climate change. "For years we have been talking about bio-based solutions for adapting to climate change. Despite all the federal government's programs, we see little progress..." Read more »

Urbanization changes soil microbes

By | April 1, 2025
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Soil microbes play a fundamental role in nutrient cycling and the decomposition of organic matter, yet their response to urbanization remains poorly understood. While previous research has shown that urbanization leads to the homogenization of plant and animal communities, its impact on microbial communities—particularly their functional traits—has received less attention. Given the crucial role of microbes in… Read more »