Geo-Questionnaire for Environmental Planning: The Case of Ecosystem Services Delivered by Trees in Poland

Studies on society and the environment interface are often based on simple questionnaires that do not allow for an in-depth analysis. Research conducted with geo-questionnaires is an increasingly common method. However, even if data collected via a geo-questionnaire are available, the shared databases provide limited information due to personal data protection. In the article, we present open databases that overcome those limitations. They are the result of the iTre-es project concerning public opinion on the benefits provided by trees and shrubs in four different research areas. The databases provide information on the location of trees that are valuable to the residents, the distances from the respondents’ residence place, their attitude toward tree removal, socio-demographic variables, attachment to the place of life, and environmental attitudes. The presentation of all these aspects was possible thanks to the appropriate aggregation of the results. A method to anonymize the respondents is presented. We discuss the collected data and their possible areas of application.

Use of Bi-Temporal ALS Point Clouds for Tree Removal Detection on Private Property in Racibórz, Poland

Trees growing on private property have become an essential part of urban green policies. In many places, restrictions are imposed on tree removal on private property. However, monitoring compliance of these regulations appears difficult due to a lack of reference data and public administration capacity. We assessed the impact of the temporary suspension of mandatory permits on tree removal, which was in force in 2017 in Poland, on the change in urban tree cover (UTC) in the case of the municipality of Racibórz. The bi-temporal airborne laser scanning (ALS) point clouds (2011 and 2017) and administrative records on tree removal permits were used for analyzing the changes of UTC in the period of 2011–2017. The results show increased tree removal at a time when the mandatory permit was suspended. Moreover, it appeared that most trees on private properties were removed without obtaining permission when it was obligatory. The method based on LiDAR we proposed allows for monitoring green areas, including private properties.

Causes and Effects of Tree Removal in University of Ibadan Campus

Trees on the university of Ibadan campus environment are positioned in a remarkable and notable manner; however, they may also present potential hazards to the infrastructure and humans they coexist with. The numerous benefits of trees can be negated due to poor tree health and anthropogenic activities and as such they may become hazardous. The study aims at evaluating the causes and effects of tree removal on University of Ibadan Campus, Oyo State Nigeria. University of Ibadan was stratified into 4 locations which are: Residential areas, Administrative areas, Parks and Gardens and Academic Areas. 323 trees comprising of 38 species were identified and the locations where they were removed was identified also. Also, 200 respondents were sampled to assess the perceived effects of removal of campus trees and some members of campus biodiversity management committee were interviewed to ascertain the reasons behind tree removal on campus. With the aid of data form, oral interviews, site assessments, G.P.S and structured questionnaires, the trees removed in the last ten years, the reasons for their removal and perceived effects of tree removal on campus were ascertained.The results revealed that the most trees removed on campus were Delonix regia 22.3% and Albizia glaberima 15.8% while the least removed were Anarcadium occidentale, Bridelia micrantha, Cocos nucifera, Ficus mucuso, Morinda Lucinda, Pinus carribea, Tabebuia rosea and Terminalia superba with 0.3% each.Residential areas had the highest number of tree removal on campus while the parks and gardens and administrative areas had the least. Trees removed were because of so many reasons in which old age, threat to buildings, tree defects and wind throwing are more prominent.In conclusion, the study revealed that the tree species removed had no specific relationship with the reasons for their removal but the reasons for removal of the trees had an association with the locations where they were removed. Also, it revealed that almost all the trees removed on campus was because they were or may later have some negative impacts on lives, environment and properties and mostly to forestall dangers. Since there will always be some common interactions between the environment, lives, properties and trees on campus, the study recommends effective management of campus trees and removal in cases where necessary and also replacement of removed trees especially because of root rots, insect infestation, dead trees and old age should be encouraged.

Impacts of Timber Harvest on Communities of Small Mammals, Ticks, and Tick-Borne Pathogens in a High-Risk Landscape in Northern California

Timber harvest may impact tick-borne disease by affecting small mammal and tick community structures. We assessed tick and small mammal populations in older second-growth redwood (Sequoia sempervirens (D. Don) Endl) habitat at two harvested sites in Santa Cruz County, California, where local risk of tick-borne disease is high and determined the prevalence of tick-borne pathogens in ticks. After single-tree removal harvest in 2014, there was a modest reduction in canopy, primarily toward the end of the study. Harvested sites showed strong reductions in California mouse (Peromyscus californicus, (Gambel)) captures 2-yr after harvest, resolving such that treatments and controls were comparable by the end of the study. Following harvest, treated sites experienced a transient decreased tick infestation while control plots experienced an increase. Ixodes angustus (Neumann) infestation probability on harvested plots decreased immediately after harvest, increasing with time but remaining lower than control plots, whereas I. pacificus (Cooley and Kohls) prevalence was higher shortly after the harvest on harvested plots, and continued to increase. Mean abundance of ticks on vegetation increased on control plots. We detected Borrelia burgdorferi ((Johnson et al.) Baranton) and Anaplasma phagocytophilum ((Foggie 1949) Dumler) in 3.8 and 3.1% of ticks on rodents, but no differences were associated with harvest. Impacts of forest harvest on tick-borne disease depend on removal practice and intensity, whether or not hosts are habitat specialists, and whether or not ticks are host specialists.

Long-Term Effectiveness of Tree Removal to Re-Establish Sagebrush Steppe Vegetation and Associated Spatial Patterns in Surface Conditions and Soil Hydrologic Properties

Pinyon (Pinus spp.) and juniper (Juniperus spp.) woodland encroachment into sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) steppe communities throughout western North America has substantially altered the vegetation structure and hydrologic function of one of the most ecologically important rangeland ecosystems in the world. Various pinyon and juniper tree removal practices are employed to re-establish sagebrush steppe vegetation and an associated resource-conserving ecohydrologic function. The effectiveness of these practices is highly variable owing to the vast domain in which woodland encroachment occurs, climate fluctuations, differences in treatment applications, and myriads of pre-treatment conditions and post-treatment land uses. This study evaluated the long-term (13 years post-treatment) effectiveness of prescribed fire and mechanical tree removal to re-establish sagebrush steppe vegetation and associated spatial patterns in ground surface conditions and soil hydrologic properties of two woodland-encroached sites. Specifically, we assessed the effects of tree removal on: (1) vegetation and ground cover at the hillslope scale (990 m2 plots) and (2) associated spatial patterns in point-scale ground surface conditions and soil hydrologic properties along transects extending from tree bases and into the intercanopy areas between trees. Both sites were in mid to late stages of woodland encroachment with extensive bare conditions (~60–80% bare ground) throughout a degraded intercanopy area (~75% of the domain) surrounding tree islands (~25% of domain, subcanopy areas). All treatments effectively removed mature tree cover and increased hillslope vegetation. Enhanced herbaceous cover (4–15-fold increases) in burned areas reduced bare interspace (bare area between plants) by at least 4-fold and improved intercanopy hydraulic conductivity (> than 2-fold) and overall ecohydrologic function. Mechanical treatments retained or increased sagebrush and generally increased the intercanopy herbaceous vegetation. Intercanopy ground surface conditions and soil hydrologic properties in mechanical treatments were generally similar to those in burned areas but were also statistically similar to the same measures in untreated areas in most cases. This suggests that vegetation and ground surface conditions in mechanical treatments are trending toward a significantly improved hydrologic function over time. Treatments had limited impact on soil hydrologic properties within subcanopy areas; however, burning did reduce the soil water repellency strength and the occurrence of strong soil water repellency underneath trees by three- to four-fold. Overall, the treatments over a 13-year period enhanced the vegetation, ground surface conditions, and soil hydrologic properties that promote infiltration and limit runoff generation for intercanopy areas representing ~75% of the area at the sites. However, ecological tradeoffs in treatment alternatives were evident. The variations in woodland responses across sites, treatments, and measurement scales in this long-term study illustrate the complexity in predicting vegetation and hydrologic responses to tree removal on woodland-encroached sagebrush sites and underpin the need and value of multi-scale long-term studies.

Vegetation, ground cover, soil, rainfall simulation, and overland-flow experiments before and after tree removal in woodland-encroached sagebrush steppe: the hydrology component of the Sagebrush Steppe Treatment Evaluation Project (SageSTEP)

Rainfall simulation and overland-flow experiments enhance understanding of surface hydrology and erosion processes, quantify runoff and erosion rates, and provide valuable data for developing and testing predictive models. We present a unique dataset (1021 experimental plots) of rainfall simulation (1300 plot runs) and overland-flow (838 plot runs) experimental plot data paired with measures of vegetation, ground cover, and surface soil physical properties spanning point to hillslope scales. The experimental data were collected at three sloping sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) sites in the Great Basin, USA, each subjected to woodland encroachment and with conditions representative of intact wooded shrublands and 1–9 years following wildfire, prescribed fire, and/or tree cutting and shredding tree-removal treatments. The methodologies applied in data collection and the cross-scale experimental design uniquely provide scale-dependent, separate measures of interrill (rain splash and sheet flow processes, 0.5 m2 plots) and concentrated overland-flow runoff and erosion rates (∼9 m2 plots), along with collective rates for these same processes combined over the patch scale (13 m2 plots). The dataset provides a valuable source for developing, assessing, and calibrating/validating runoff and erosion models applicable to diverse plant community dynamics with varying vegetation, ground cover, and surface soil conditions. The experimental data advance understanding and quantification of surface hydrologic and erosion processes for the research domain and potentially for other patchy-vegetated rangeland landscapes elsewhere. Lastly, the unique nature of repeated measures spanning numerous treatments and timescales delivers a valuable dataset for examining long-term landscape vegetation, soil, hydrology, and erosion responses to various management actions, land use, and natural disturbances. The dataset is available from the US Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Library at https://data.nal.usda.gov/search/type/dataset (last access: 7 May 2020) (doi: https://doi.org/10.15482/USDA.ADC/1504518; Pierson et al., 2019).