Ella Uppala: "If plants cannot do well in cities, neither can people"
"Thriving urban vegetation is necessary to uphold biodiversity, water systems and human well-being", says Ella Uppala, Department of Urban and Rural Development.
Who are you? Could you give a short presentation of yourself and your research area?
"My name is Ella Uppala. I’m an industrial licentiate student, which means I’m employed as a landscape architect at a private company called Ramboll, and that I do my research at the Department of Urban and Rural Development at SLU as a part of my regular employment. I have been studying short-term vegetation development in urban rain gardens. Urban rain gardens are plantings that are designed to remove pollutants from stormwater and to prevent flooding. Rain gardens in densely built areas, like streets, are also expected to be beautiful and provide habitat for insects despite the heat, drought and pollutants of urban environments that hinder plant growth. So the question is if and how the health and performance of rain garden vegetation can be improved through planting design."
How does your research align with the One Health concept, and in what ways can it contribute to a more sustainable and socially impactful world?
"If plants cannot do well in cities, neither can people. Thriving urban vegetation is thus necessary to uphold biodiversity, water systems and human well-being. While I think that urban planning has to become better adapted to accommodate people, plants, animals and water into cities, there is also much room to work with planting design and engineering solutions to improve outcomes. Design and engineering solutions that improve plant performance are especially important for making space for vegetation and water in existing environments."
What are your plans now after your Licentiate thesis?
"I will continue my employment at Ramboll, where I try to implement my research results into urban design. I am also looking into how plants can be used in nature-based solutions beyond rain gardens, and have already gained some experience with stormwater wetlands and ponds. Phytoremediation, that is cleaning pollutants from soils through vegetation, fungi and bacteria, is also an interesting topic, especially in traffic environments like motorways and railroads."