scholarly journals Forecasting the Effects of Heat and Pests on Urban Trees: Impervious Surface Thresholds and the ‘Pace-to-Plant’ Technique

2016 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Dale ◽  
Elsa Youngsteadt ◽  
Steven Frank
Keyword(s):  
Acer Rubrum ◽  
Impervious Surface ◽  
Urban Trees ◽  
Red Maple ◽  
Natural Forests ◽  
Street Trees ◽  
Surface Cover ◽  
Impervious Surface Cover ◽  
Urban Sites ◽  
Tree Condition

Trees provide ecosystem services that benefit humans and the environment. Unfortunately, urban trees often do not provide maximum services due to abiotic stress and arthropod herbivores and borers. These problems often originate from trees being planted in unsuitable conditions. Cities are warmer than natural areas because impervious surfaces absorb and reradiate heat. Higher temperatures can increase pest insect abundance and water stress, and reduce street tree condition relative to natural forests. For example, the gloomy scale insect [Melanaspsis tenebricosa Comstock (Hemiptera: Diaspididae)], a pest of red maple (Acer rubrum) street trees, is more abundant in warmer than cooler urban sites. Acer rubrum, at warmer urban sites with more M. tenebricosa, are typically in poor condition. Here, researchers demonstrate these relationships and illustrate how impervious surface cover can be used to predict the condition of A. rubrum street trees. impervious surface thresholds were then developed to define suitable planting sites that can be used by individuals with access to GIS software. Researchers present the pace-to-plant technique, which can be used by landscape professionals to quickly estimate impervious surface cover around a planting site. These thresholds predict future tree condition based on planting site impervious surface cover. The hope is that more informed planting will minimize pest infestations and maximize the future vigor and performance of street trees.

Chronology of Gloomy Scale (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) Infestations on Urban Trees

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (5) ◽  
pp. 1113-1120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristi M Backe ◽  
Steven D Frank
Keyword(s):  
Acer Rubrum ◽  
Impervious Surface ◽  
Urban Trees ◽  
Tree Planting ◽  
Tree Age ◽  
Efficient Management ◽  
Impervious Surface Cover ◽  
Individual Trees ◽  
Age Range ◽  
Tree Condition

Abstract Pest abundance on urban trees often increases with surrounding impervious surface. Gloomy scale (Melanaspis tenebricosa Comstock; Hemiptera: Diaspididae), a pest of red maples (Acer rubrum L.; Sapindales: Sapindaceae) in the southeast United States, reaches injurious levels in cities and reduces tree condition. Here, we use a chronosequence field study in Raleigh, NC, to investigate patterns in gloomy scale densities over time from the nursery to 13 yr after tree planting, with a goal of informing more efficient management of gloomy scale on urban trees. We examine how impervious surfaces affect the progression of infestations and how infestations affect tree condition. We find that gloomy scale densities remain low on trees until at least seven seasons after tree planting, providing a key timepoint for starting scouting efforts. Scouting should focus on tree branches, not tree trunks. Scale density on tree branches increases with impervious surface across the entire studied tree age range and increases faster on individual trees that are planted in areas with high impervious surface cover. There is a lag between the onset of pest infestations and a decline in tree condition, indicating that gloomy scale management should begin prior to a visible decline in tree condition. Our results inform management of gloomy scale in cities.

Impervious Surface Thresholds and the Pace to Plant Technique for Planting Urban Red Maple Trees

EDIS ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam G. Dale ◽  
Steven D. Frank ◽  
Elsa Youngsteadt ◽  
Barbara Fair ◽  
Julieta Sherk ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Insect Pests ◽  
Plant Stress ◽  
Acer Rubrum ◽  
Impervious Surface ◽  
Scale Insect ◽  
Urban Landscapes ◽  
Red Maple ◽  
Tree Stress ◽  
The Right ◽  
Tree Condition

A foundation of integrated pest management (IPM) in urban landscapes is to put the right plant in the right place. This preventive tactic can reduce plant stress, pest infestations, and subsequent pesticide applications. Many urban tree species have more insect and mite pests in urban landscapes than in surrounding natural areas. This is due in part to stress created by impervious surfaces, such as roads and sidewalks that can increase air temperature and reduce soil moisture. For red maples (Acer rubrum), more impervious surface area leads to more stress and worse tree condition. This publication focuses on selecting red maple planting sites that will help reduce tree stress and scale insect pests by maximizing surfaces permeable to water.

Implications of land use policy on impervious surface cover change in Cixi County, Zhejiang Province, China

Cities ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
pp. 21-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
AmirReza Shahtahmassebi ◽  
Yi Pan ◽  
Lin Lin ◽  
Ashton Shortridge ◽  
Ke Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Impervious Surface ◽  
Land Use Policy ◽  
Zhejiang Province ◽  
Surface Cover ◽  
Impervious Surface Cover

scholarly journals RESISTANCE TO ROOT-ZONE HEAT STRESS DIFFERS AMONG CULTIVARS OF RED MAPLE

HortScience ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 635b-635 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorna C. Wilkins ◽  
William R. Graves ◽  
Alden M. Townsend
Keyword(s):  
Heat Stress ◽  
Root Zone ◽  
Acer Rubrum ◽  
Urban Trees ◽  
Genotypic Differences ◽  
Red Maple ◽  
Single Node ◽  
Root Zone Temperature ◽  
Terminal Buds ◽  
Zone Temperature

Use of cultivars resistant to high soil temperature could improve the performance of urban trees. The objective of this project was to examine selections of red maple (Acer rubrum L. and A. x freemanii E. Murray) for genotypic differences in resistance to root-zone heat stress. Development of roots and shoots from rooted single-node cuttings of seven genotypes grown in solution culture was optimal at about 28C. Shoot extension stopped within 3 weeks and terminal buds formed on plants of all genotypes at 36C. In a second experiment, the influence of 34C root-zone temperature on development varied significantly among six genotypes. Formation of terminal buds at 34C was observed only on plants of cv. Morgan and cv. Red Sunset. The reduction in new dry matter at 34C compared to plants at 28C ranged from 21% for cv. Schlesinger to 69% for cv. Morgan. We conclude that genotypes of red maple differ in resistance to high root-zone temperature.

Watersheds at Risk to Increased Impervious Surface Cover in the Conterminous United States

2009 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 362-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
David M. Theobald ◽  
Scott J. Goetz ◽  
John B. Norman ◽  
Patrick Jantz
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
At Risk ◽  
Impervious Surface ◽  
Surface Cover ◽  
Impervious Surface Cover

scholarly journals Integrating Activity-Based Geographic Information and Long-Term Remote Sensing to Characterize Urban Land Use Change

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (24) ◽  
pp. 2965
Author(s):  
Cheng Fu ◽  
Xiao-Peng Song ◽  
Kathleen Stewart
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Impervious Surface ◽  
Urban Land ◽  
Urban Land Use ◽  
Urban Region ◽  
Land Uses ◽  
Surface Cover ◽  
Impervious Surface Cover

The land use structure is a key component to understand the complexity of urban systems because it provides a snapshot of urban dynamics and how people use space. This paper integrates socially sensed activity data with a remotely sensed land cover product in order to infer urban land use and its changes over time. We conducted a case study in the Washington D.C.–Baltimore metropolitan area to identify the pattern of land use change from undeveloped to developed land, including residential and non-residential uses for a period covering 1986–2008. The proposed approach modeled physical and behavioral features of land parcels from a satellite-based impervious surface cover change product and georeferenced Tweets, respectively. A model assessment with random forests classifiers showed that the proposed classification workflow could classify residential and non-residential land uses at an accuracy of 81%, 4% better than modeling the same land uses from physical features alone. Using the timestamps of the impervious surface cover change product, the study also reconstructed the timeline of the identified land uses. The results indicated that the proposed approach was capable of mapping detailed land use and change in an urban region, and represents a new and viable way forward for urban land use surveying that could be especially useful for surveying and tracking changes in cities where traditional approaches and mapping products (i.e., from remote sensing products) may have a limited capacity to capture change.

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.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document