Urban forestry is the care and management of individual trees and tree populations in urban environments with the purpose of improving the urban environment.
urban forestry
involves both planning and management, including the scheduling of urban forest care and maintenance operations. Urban forestry advocates for the role of trees as a fundamental part of urban infrastructure.urban foresters plant and maintain
trees, support proper tree and forest conservation, conduct research, and promote the many benefits that trees provide.Urban forestry is practiced by municipal and commercial arborists, municipal and utility foresters, environmental legislators, city planners, consultants, educators, researchers and community activists. Urban forestry is defined as the planting, maintenance, care and protection of tree populations in urban environments. And the role of trees is an essential function of urban planning and urban infrastructure. Planned green space connections encompass not only parks and gardens, but also landscaped boulevards, river and coastal walks, greenways, and even simple street-side tree boxes.
All of this requires strategic planning and a skilled workforce. More than 141 million acres of U.S. forests are found in our cities and towns.
urban forests
come in many different shapes and sizes.They include urban parks, street trees, landscaped boulevards, gardens, river and coastal walks, greenways, river corridors, wetlands, nature reserves, tree belts, and operating trees at former industrial sites. Urban forests, through planned connections of green spaces, form the green infrastructure on which communities depend. Green infrastructure works at multiple scales, from neighborhood to metropolitan area and regional landscape. Urban forests not only provide benefits to human owners, but they can also facilitate habitat requirements for a variety of wildlife species (Grado et al.
Trees and shrubs around houses and office buildings provide nesting environments for various species of birds, as well as insects and reptiles. The flowers and fruits produced act as a food source for many different species. In some cases, mammals, such as white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), frequently enter residential areas to explore abundant plant life without fear of being hunted. The presence of these annoying deer has led to the development of a series of commercial deer repellents, as well as the development of capture and disposal methods (Tregoning and Kays, 200.
Ultimately, a healthy urban forest can help protect urban streams and bodies of water, promoting better water quality and viable populations of aquatic plants and fish. Some cities and private organizations are actively developing urban forest areas with the partial objective of developing wildlife habitat (Draus et al. However, urban forests can also attract unwanted wildlife, which can lead to damage to plants and structures, threats to domestic pets, and the presence of wildlife excrement (defecation) (Dwyer et al. Urban forests are a critical form of infrastructure in our cities and towns.
They help filter air and water, maintain biodiversity, foster social cohesion within our communities and much more. The importance of forests and trees in our cities is increasingly recognized, as many cities face exacerbated impacts of climate change. For example, high levels of impermeable surface in urban areas make cities especially vulnerable to flooding after extreme weather events. The increase in the impermeable area also causes cities to have high temperatures, also known as the urban heat island effect.
Trees and forests within the urban matrix can help keep cities cooler and absorb stormwater, increasing our resilience to the impacts of change. At the same time, as these trees grow, they store and sequester carbon, an important greenhouse gas. To learn more about the many benefits that urban forests provide, visit the Vibrant Cities Laboratory. There are several key questions related to the effects that urban features and urban forests have on meteorology and air quality.
Bartuska also noted that the USDA Agricultural Research Service has a project on small, organic farms in urban areas. Each type is successful in providing economic and ecosystem benefits to the area in which they are used. The first two panels discussed urban forest services that are quantified through modeling tools, remote sensing, GIS and other mapping and monitoring technologies. The potential of forests to act as sinks of N in urban environments depends on soil conditions (e).
For example, gray infrastructure disrupts natural flow paths, so urban streams can become prone to flash flooding, causing stream erosion. In the United Kingdom, urban forestry was pioneered in the early 19th century by the Midland reforestation association, which focused on the Black Country. Urban areas have highly modified environments, sealed surfaces and human-caused species introductions and therefore represent novel habitats composed of novel sets of plants and animals. In urban areas, integrating green (vegetation), brown (soils) and blue (streams) infrastructure is one way to develop a multifunctional landscape.
Cultivate urban forest through new plantations to maximize the social, economic and environmental benefits of trees and urban greening. Typically, any particular organization does not have sufficient funds to achieve and maintain a significant urban treetop goal. Human-wildlife interactions and the impacts of urbanization on these wildlife populations influence cities around the world. Urban forests mitigate the effects of urban heat island through evapotranspiration and shading of streets and buildings.
Adelaide, located in South Australia's driest state, examined the potential of green roofs to combat the urban heat island effect. . .