Revisión del censo forestal, georeferenciación y generación de códigos SIGAU, para el proyecto Accesos Norte II, Unidades Funcionales 1, 2, 3, 4 y 5.

Abstract

Mobility in Bogotá, especially on the Autopista Norte highway, has been affected by population growth and urban development, generating traffic flows of up to 4,708 vehicles per hour during peak times, according to a study by Santo Tomás University (Cifuentes Romero, 2019). This high level of congestion underscores the urgent need to expand road infrastructure to improve traffic flow in the city and strengthen the competitiveness of the metropolitan region. However, the recent refusal by the National Environmental Licensing Authority (ANLA) to grant an environmental license for the expansion of the project highlights the importance of complying with the requirements established by environmental authorities. Among the key requirements, it is important to highlight the need to identify and georeference each individual tree in the intervention area. This is achieved by surveying these trees in the field and capturing their dasometric information, physical and health status, among other additional variables also required by the District Secretariat of the Environment (SDA) as the competent authority working hand in hand with the Bogotá Botanical Garden (JBB) José Celestino Mutis for the administration and management of the city's urban trees, through the establishment of unique codes for existing trees in the district to facilitate their identification and census through the Urban Tree Management System (SIGAU). In response to the challenges of forest censuses in road projects such as the Autopista Norte, an opportunity has been identified to optimize census processes through the use of geospatial analysis technologies and tools. During the field information verification process, carried out by eight (8) forestry professionals, individual trees were recorded using the Memento application. This tool allowed for the collection of taxonomic and dasometric data, such as DBH, total and commercial height, basal area, among others. In addition, the phytosanitary and physical condition of the individuals was evaluated, purging inconsistencies in the information. All data were georeferenced and associated with a unique ID to ensure their correct location in the geographic information system (GIS). Although there were inaccuracies in the location of the GPS points, these were adjusted and relocated within the intervention area, complying with the requirements of the environmental authorities and their corroboration with the individuals already registered in the SIGAU. This process was essential to optimize the correct spatialization of individuals and generate the urban tree management system files required by the district authority, thus ensuring the environmental viability of the current project and providing a reference for possible road infrastructure projects in Bogotá.