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Moscow’s Trees Will Be Dead in 15 Yrs.
The removal of fallen leaves will kill the trees in Moscow in 15-20 years, says Boris Samoilov, laboratory head at the All-Russia Research Institute for the Preservation of Nature, at a press conference today. Groundskeepers in the Russian capital remove leaves from the ground everyday, which has a disastrous effect on the soil.
Samoilov noted that tree leaves in the city absorb pollution from automobiles and chemical used to treat the streets. However, “soil can breakdown concentrations of heavy metals in significant quantities, but without leaf mulch, nature will die in the city.” Samoilov also expressed alarm at the felling of trees for the construction of the Central Automobile Ring Road outside Moscow. He said that, in addition to the road, forest land will be sacrificed to build housing, warehouses and other facilities, because buying up land that is already owned is difficult. “It will be a serious blow to Moscow’s climate,” he warned.
The environment continues to take a beating in Moscow and the surrounding area. In the last week, more than 90 tons of garbage was thrown into local ponds. Workers cleared 270,000 sq. m. of aquatic area of 77,000 tons of garbage in the same time. Cleanup efforts in Moscow waterways have resulted in the removal of 134,000 tons of garbage, which was buried under 269,000 tons of earth. About a third of that mass was litter left behind by the public.
www.kommersant.com
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