Beyond the luxury effect: Individual and structural drivers lead to ‘urban forest inequity’ in public street trees in Melbourne, Australia

2022 ◽  
Vol 218 ◽  
pp. 104311
Author(s):  
Caragh G. Threlfall ◽  
Lucy Dubrelle Gunn ◽  
Melanie Davern ◽  
Dave Kendal
Keyword(s):  
Urban Forest ◽  
Street Trees ◽  
Structural Drivers

scholarly journals Can Field Crews Telecommute? Varied Data Quality from Citizen Science Tree Inventories Conducted Using Street-Level Imagery

Forests ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 349 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Berland ◽  
Lara A. Roman ◽  
Jess Vogt
Keyword(s):  
Data Quality ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Field Data ◽  
Urban Forest ◽  
Street Trees ◽  
Diameter Class ◽  
Tree Diameter ◽  
Street Level ◽  
Street Tree ◽  
High Level

Street tree inventories are a critical component of urban forest management. However, inventories conducted in the field by trained professionals are expensive and time-consuming. Inventories relying on citizen scientists or virtual surveys conducted remotely using street-level photographs may greatly reduce the costs of street tree inventories, but there are fundamental uncertainties regarding the level of data quality that can be expected from these emerging approaches to data collection. We asked 16 volunteers to inventory street trees in suburban Chicago using Google Street ViewTM imagery, and we assessed data quality by comparing their virtual survey data to field data from the same locations. We also compared virtual survey data quality according to self-rated expertise by measuring agreement within expert, intermediate, and novice analyst groups. Analyst agreement was very good for the number of trees on each street segment, and agreement was markedly lower for tree diameter class and tree identification at the genus and species levels, respectively. Interrater agreement varied by expertise, such that experts agreed with one another more often than novices for all four variables assessed. Compared to the field data, we observed substantial variability in analyst performance for diameter class estimation and tree identification, and some intermediate analysts performed as well as experts. Our findings suggest that virtual surveys may be useful for documenting the locations of street trees within a city more efficiently than field crews and with a high level of accuracy. However, tree diameter and species identification data were less reliable across all expertise groups, and especially novice analysts. Based on this analysis, virtual street tree inventories are best suited to collecting very basic information such as tree locations, or updating existing inventories to determine where trees have been planted or removed. We conclude with evidence-based recommendations for effective implementation of this type of approach.

The Effects of Residential Street Tree Spacing and Crown Interactions on Crown Dimensions and Canopy Cover

2021 ◽  
Vol 47 (5) ◽  
pp. 183-195
Author(s):  
Bimal Aryal ◽  
James Steenberg ◽  
Peter Duinker
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Urban Forest ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Interaction Effects ◽  
Projection Area ◽  
Street Trees ◽  
Street Tree ◽  
Crown Shape ◽  
Crown Projection Area ◽  
Crown Dimensions

Urban trees provide people with a range of ecosystem services. Trees planted along streets have been a large focus of urban forest research and practice, and municipalities invest significant resources in their survival. However, the optimal spacing of street trees is not addressed in the scientific literature, and existing municipal street tree spacing standards are highly variable and poorly enforced. In this study, we examine variability in crown shape and size for street trees to test for possible interaction effects at closer spacings. We measured variability in crown diameters both parallel and perpendicular to street tree rows to test whether changes in crown dimensions can be explained by interaction effects with neighbouring trees, and whether crown interactions lead to a reduction in total crown projection area (i.e., canopy cover). We measured the crown dimensions and diameter at breast height of 1,338 street trees in Halifax, Canada. We used two-way analysis of variance to test whether crown shape and crown projection area were affected by crown interactions and spacing. We found that the effect of narrower spacing and interactions (i.e., crowns touching/overlapping) among trees translated to crowns extending away from the direction of interaction. We also found that these changing crown dimensions were associated with increases in canopy cover. Urban forest ecosystems are a vital resource for the increasingly urban population. There is a need for empirical research on spacing standards and practices that investigate their influence on the supply of ecosystem services, such as stormwater retention, air pollution removal, and cooling.

The Urban Forest is Broken: Rethinking Street Trees as Urban Infrastructure

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 (5) ◽  
pp. 681-695
Author(s):  
Peter MacDonagh ◽  
Thomas Smiley ◽  
David Bloniarz
Keyword(s):  
Urban Forest ◽  
Urban Infrastructure ◽  
Street Trees

scholarly journals Estimation of Ecosystem Services Provided by Street Trees in Kyoto, Japan

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 311
Author(s):  
Xiaoyang Tan ◽  
Satoshi Hirabayashi ◽  
Shozo Shibata
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Urban Forest ◽  
Urban Trees ◽  
Street Trees ◽  
Flowering Dogwood ◽  
Runoff Reduction ◽  
Kyoto City ◽  
Salix Babylonica

Street trees are integral components of urban green infrastructure. The importance of benefits provided by street trees has motivated the development of various tools to quantify the value of ecosystem services. The i-Tree Eco is a widely applied method for quantifying urban forest structure, ecosystem services, and values. Since its first release in 2006, i-Tree Eco has been successfully utilized in over 100 countries around the world. This study described one of the first applications of the i-Tree Eco international project in Kyoto, Japan, by customizing the models and parameters to enhance the accuracy of analysis results. Kyoto’s street trees are prominently dominated by Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba L.), Trident Maple (Acer buergerianum Miq.), Japanese Zelkova (Zelkova serrata (Thunb.) Makino.), Tuliptree (Liriodendron tulipifera L.), Flowering dogwood (Cornus florida L.), London Planetree (Platanus × acerifolia), Plum/cherry (Prunus spp.), and Weeping willow (Salix babylonica), which account for 92% of the 1230 sample trees and deliver ecosystem service benefits at US$71,434.21 annually or US$58.07/tree/year. The annual value of each function was estimated at US$41.34/tree for carbon storage and sequestration, US$3.26/tree for stormwater runoff reduction, US$11.80/tree for adverse health mitigation effects, and US$1.67/tree for energy savings. The street tree species of Kyoto city that produce the highest average annual benefits are among the largest trees currently in the population, including P. × yedoensis (US$225.32/tree), Z. serrata (US$123.21/tree), S. babylonica (US$80.10/tree), and P. × acerifolia (US$65.88/tree). Our results demonstrated a comprehensive understanding of street trees benefits for Kyoto city, providing baseline information for decision-makers and managers to make effective urban trees management decisions, developing policy, and setting priorities.

scholarly journals Why Opt-in to a Planting Program? Long-term Residents Value Street Tree Aesthetics

2015 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dexter Locke ◽  
Lara Roman ◽  
Colleen Murphy-Dunning
Keyword(s):  
Urban Forest ◽  
Urban Forestry ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Tree Planting ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Capital Investments ◽  
New Haven ◽  
Street Trees ◽  
Street Tree

Many cities are making substantial capital investments in urban tree planting. Residents play active and diverse roles in enhancing and protecting the urban forest, and are therefore critical to many municipal-level policy objectives. The way residents perceive and value the urban forest can have implications for achieving urban forestry goals through residents and volunteers. However, urban residents are not a monolithic block or homogenous category; instead, they have diverse opinions, needs, and constraints. Moreover, relatively little is known about how residents hear about available resources, such as free trees, and decide to ‘opt-in’ to tree planting initiatives, choosing to plant and maintain trees on or near their properties. The focus of this study was to address three questions about participation in a request-driven program that provides free street trees to residents of New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.: 1) Who requests trees through this program? 2) How did the requesters hear about this program? 3) Why did residents request free street trees? Survey respondents were primarily long-term residents of New Haven; mostly learned about the opportunity from their neighbors; and requested a street tree to replace a removed tree, because they value the aesthetics, and to a lesser extent the environmental benefits. Future research should systematically investigate differences between participants and non-participants in local tree planting initiatives, exploring possible trends across cities and programs. Such studies would identify opportunities and barriers to engaging private residents in efforts aimed at increasing canopy.

scholarly journals CARACTERÍSTICAS FITOSSOCIOLÓGICAS DA ARBORIZAÇÃO VIÁRIA DE BONITO-MS

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
Kendra Zamproni ◽  
Daniela Biondi ◽  
Tamara Ribeiro Botelho de Carvalho Maria ◽  
Rogério Bobrowski
Keyword(s):  
Forest Inventory ◽  
Traditional Method ◽  
Urban Forest ◽  
Urban Trees ◽  
Absolute Frequency ◽  
Street Trees ◽  
Importance Value ◽  
Crown Area ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Species Performance

Diagnosis through the street trees’ assessment is fundamental to the planning and maintenance of this asset, in order to maximize the benefits provided by the urban trees. Phytosociological studies allow an improvement of the data analysis obtained from the inventory, however they are still not used often in research on this subject. Within this context, the objective of this study was to analyze the phytosociological characteristics of the street trees of Bonito-MS, from the data obtained through a previous urban forest inventory. For this, the following factors were analyzed: frequency, density, dominance (expressed by the crown area in replace of the DBH) and importance value, calculated by the traditional method and by the Species Performance Index (IPE). Within the results, it is possible to verify that the importance value highlighted species which presented larger crown area even to the detriment of those that presented higher absolute frequency. The species with the highest frequency, density and dominance values was Licania tomentosa, and, despite the homogeneity of its planting in the municipality, this species presented high IPE value. The use of these phytosociological parameters allows a better evaluation of the adaptation and performance of the species in the municipality and assists in the decision-making of new plantings.

scholarly journals Spatial variability of urban forest topsoil properties: towards representative and robust sampling design

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 45
Author(s):  
Nadina Galle ◽  
William Brinton ◽  
Robin Vos ◽  
Fábio Duarte ◽  
Marcus Collier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Variability ◽  
Sampling Design ◽  
Urban Forest ◽  
Soil Health ◽  
Acer Rubrum ◽  
Urban Trees ◽  
Street Trees ◽  
Baseline Measure ◽  
Basal Soil Respiration ◽  
Agricultural Literature

Background: Soil spatial variability is a major concern when deciding how to collect a representative topsoil sample for laboratory analysis. Sampling design to capture site-specific variability is documented in the agricultural literature, but poorly understood for urban forest soils where soils may be characterized by strong horizontal and vertical variability and large temporal anthropogenic disturbances. Methods: This paper evaluates the spatial variability of selected topsoil properties under urban trees to define a statistically robust sampling design that optimizes the number of samples to reliably characterize basal soil respiration (BSR), a property associated with soil health. To provide a reference on variability, two additional soil properties were measured, unrelated to BSR: electrical conductivity (EC) and bulk density (BD). Thirteen sampling sites comprising both park and street trees (Acer rubrum) were selected in Cambridge, MA, USA. Results: Results indicate street tree topsoil had approximately twice as much variation, requiring more intensive sampling, as did park tree topsoil, even though street trees had smaller soil sampling zones, constricted by tree pits. The variability of BSR was nearly identical to that of EC, and BD results varied least. A large number of samples would be required for acceptable levels of statistical reliability (90% CI - 10% ER) of 44.4, 41.7, and 6.4 for BSR, EC, and BD, respectively, whereas by accepting a lower level of certainty (80% CI - 20% ER) the number of required soil samples was calculated as 6.8, 6.4, and 0.4 for BSR, EC, and BD, respectively. Conclusions: The use of EC testing as a baseline measure to determine spatial variation in the topsoil is proposed, to alleviate the financial implications of more expensive BSR testing. Factors of topsoil disturbance and soil access restrictions at sites with severe root-sidewalk conflicts and the overall generalizability of the results are also discussed.

scholarly journals Urban forest biodiversity and cardiovascular disease: Potential health benefits from California’s street trees

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (11) ◽  
pp. e0254973
Author(s):  
John J. Giacinto ◽  
G. Andrew Fricker ◽  
Matthew Ritter ◽  
Jenn Yost ◽  
Jacqueline Doremus
Keyword(s):  
Cardiovascular Disease ◽  
Heart Disease ◽  
Mortality Rate ◽  
Urban Forest ◽  
Health Benefits ◽  
Shannon Index ◽  
Tree Planting ◽  
Forest Biodiversity ◽  
Street Trees ◽  
Potential Health

Enhanced immune functioning in response to biodiversity may explain potential health benefits from exposure to green space. Using unique data on urban forest biodiversity at the zip code level for California measured from 2014 to 2019 we test whether greater diversity of street trees is associated with reduced death from cardiovascular disease. We find that urban forests with greater biodiversity measured via the Shannon Index at the genus level are associated with a lower mortality rate for heart disease and stroke. Our estimates imply that increasing the Shannon Index by one standard deviation (0.64) is associated with a decrease in the mortality rate of 21.4 per 100,000 individuals for heart disease or 13% and 7.7 per 100,000 individuals for stroke or 16%. Our estimates remain robust across several sensitivity checks. A policy simulation for tree planting in Los Angeles based on our estimates suggests that if these relationships were causal, investment in planting for a more biodiverse set of street trees would be a cost-effective way to reduce mortality related to cardiovascular disease in urban areas.

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