Tomas Bata University in Zlín

Eco-Friendly Hydrogels Will Help Protect Trees in the Central Park in Zlín

Eco-friendly hydrogels developed at Tomas Bata University in Zlín were used for the first time by employees of the Department of Urban Greenery of the Municipal Authority of Zlín on 24 November 2023 in the planting of trees. With the assistance of researchers from the Centre of Polymer Systems, ten ornamental myrobalan plum trees were planted in the Central Park in Jižní Svahy.

“We have developed environmentally-friendly hydrogels derived from purely natural, fully biodegradable, common, low-cost raw materials, which don’t damage the environment. The main component of the hydrogel material is acid whey, a by-product from the manufacture of fresh cheese and quark. Hydrogel products enhance the quality of earth by absorbing rainwater or irrigation water, making it available to plants again in times of drought,” describes Prof. Vladimír Sedlařík, Director of the Centre of Polymer Systems and the principal investigator of the project.

Employees of the Department of Urban Greenery already have experience with using hydrogels; however, they use synthetic hydrogel products, which take a long time to decompose and are rather eco-unfriendly. “We are happy that we can try using these ecological and environmentally friendly hydrogel products for the first time,” says Marie Surovcová from the Department of Urban Greenery of the Municipal Authority of Zlín.

Researchers from the Centre of Polymer Systems have already obtained the first results of using these ecological hydrogels in practice.

“In the spring, together with the Forests of the Czech Republic, we planted 75 young oaks in the Bzenec Sandpit. According to the latest measurements, we have observed significant growth in the trees with hydrogel,” explains Dr. Silvie Duřpeková, co-investigator of the project.

Hydrogels developed in Zlín have also been used by foresters in the planting of small-leaved lime trees in the vicinity of Buchlov Castle; and researchers from the Centre of Polymer Systems will check them later this year. The hydrogels have been recently used in the planting of hundreds of trees along roads in the Břeclav region.