EFFICIENCY OF USING FLOWERING HERBACEOUS PLANTS FOR LANDSCAPING CHILDREN’S PLAYGROUNDS IN URBAN AREAS

Abstract

The chaotic placement of children’s playgrounds has led to the fact that a significant number of them do not meet the standards. Complicating the situation is the fact that playgrounds are on the balance of different institutions. The problem of landscaping is particularly acute, as there is currently no single document regulating the requirements for landscaping of children’s playgrounds and there is no list of plants that are recommended for use to create protective strips of greenery. The aim of the work is to assess the efficiency of using floral herbaceous plants to create protective zones of green spaces at children’s playgrounds in large cities of Ukraine. For the first time, a study of the effectiveness of using tall floral herbaceous plants and lianas for landscaping the territories of playgrounds was carried out, confirming the scientific novelty of the work. The article presents an analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of using tall flowering herbaceous plants for landscaping playgrounds of urbanised areas and the results of dust-filtering research of such plants. The methodology is based on the results of fundamental research on the efficacy of protective green spaces. The leaf areas of the flowering plants were determined by measuring and contouring on millimetre paper. Subsequently, the amount of dust deposited on the leaves of the plants was determined on the experimental site. Using the “dust storm” method, the ability of the leaves of the greenery to retain dust was assessed. According to the research results, it can be concluded that some plant species are capable of retaining up to 1.1 mg of dust per cm2, this result coincides with the effectiveness of some types of trees and shrubs that are used to create strips of green spaces. The results of the study were implemented in a control area – the territory of the children’s playground in Kharkiv, which confirms the practical relevance of this research. Thus, the research on this theme can improve the greening and landscaping of neighbourhoods. The article may be of interest to experts in ecology, urbanism and urban planning.