Showing posts with label research. Show all posts
Showing posts with label research. Show all posts
Monday, March 8, 2010
Urban and community forests of the North Central East region: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin
Urban and community forests of the North Central East region: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin: This report details how land cover and urbanization vary within the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin by community (incorporated and census designated places), county subdivision, and county. Specifically this report provides critical urban and community forestry information for each state including human population characteristics and trends, changes in urban and community lands, tree canopy and impervious surface cover characteristics, distribution of land-cover classes, a relative comparison of urban and community forests among local government types, determination of priority areas for tree planting, and a summary of urban tree benefits. Report information can improve the understanding, management, and planning of urban and community forests.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Development of Urban Tree Canopy prioritization tools among USFS NRS research highlights for 2009
Research Highlights - Urban Natural Resource Stewardship - Northern Research Station - USDA Forest Service:
Urban tree canopy: The development of prioritization tools
Scientists from the Northern Research Station, the University of Vermont (UVM) Spatial Analysis Laboratory, and other partners have developed tools for the high resolution assessment of urban landcover. These tools have been applied to a range of cities, including Burlington, VT; Boston, MA; New York City; and Baltimore and Cumberland, MD. Based upon these assessments, these cities have established urban tree canopy (UTC) goals and allocated resources to meet these goals.
Urban tree canopy: The development of prioritization tools
Scientists from the Northern Research Station, the University of Vermont (UVM) Spatial Analysis Laboratory, and other partners have developed tools for the high resolution assessment of urban landcover. These tools have been applied to a range of cities, including Burlington, VT; Boston, MA; New York City; and Baltimore and Cumberland, MD. Based upon these assessments, these cities have established urban tree canopy (UTC) goals and allocated resources to meet these goals.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Conference presentation: Tree growth modeling to improve tree size and canopy coverage predictions; Virginia Tech, VA
Tree growth modeling to improve tree size and canopy coverage predictions — Emerging Issues Along Urban-Rural Interfaces:
Municipalities use ordinances and zoning to ensure that tree canopy cover is replenished during land development. Many localities have refined their regulations to enforce their long-term canopy cover goals, requiring developers to plant trees to provide minimum canopy cover for the project site within a specified period of 15 to 30 years. To fulfill site plan requirements, developers specify tree planting densities based on anticipated canopy growth during the attainment period. However, these calculations are typically based on observations of trees growing in non-limiting environments such as nurseries and arboreta, which are not representative of typical urban conditions. Urban conditions are oftentimes very heterogeneous due to the great degree of disturbance providing various soil conditions ranging from adequate to unacceptable. Hence, tree size predictions cannot be generalized for all planting sites and designs and have to be based on research resulting in models that include the factors that significantly influence tree growth.
Municipalities use ordinances and zoning to ensure that tree canopy cover is replenished during land development. Many localities have refined their regulations to enforce their long-term canopy cover goals, requiring developers to plant trees to provide minimum canopy cover for the project site within a specified period of 15 to 30 years. To fulfill site plan requirements, developers specify tree planting densities based on anticipated canopy growth during the attainment period. However, these calculations are typically based on observations of trees growing in non-limiting environments such as nurseries and arboreta, which are not representative of typical urban conditions. Urban conditions are oftentimes very heterogeneous due to the great degree of disturbance providing various soil conditions ranging from adequate to unacceptable. Hence, tree size predictions cannot be generalized for all planting sites and designs and have to be based on research resulting in models that include the factors that significantly influence tree growth.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Research paper: Modeling Spatial Establishment Patterns of Exotic Forest Insects in Urban Areas in Relation to Tree Cover and Propagule Pressure
BioOne Online Journals - Modeling Spatial Establishment Patterns of Exotic Forest Insects in Urban Areas in Relation to Tree Cover and Propagule Pressure:
As international trade increases so does the prominence of urban areas as gateways for exotic forest insects (EFI). Delimiting hot spots for invasions (i.e., areas where establishment is likely) within urban areas would facilitate monitoring efforts. We used a propagule-pressure framework to delimit establishment hot spots of a hypothetical generalist EFI in six U.S. urban areas: Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, New York-Newark, and Seattle. We assessed how urban tree cover and propagule pressure interact to delimit establishment hot spots and compared the location of these hot spots with actual recent U.S. detections of two EFI: the Asian strain of the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar (L.) (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae), and Asian longhorned beetle, Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae). Using a lattice of 5-km-diameter cells for each urban area, we used the input data (urban tree cover and propagule pressure) to model establishment and Moran's I to delimit hot spots. We used urban population size and the area of commercial-industrial land use as indicators of propagule pressure in the model. Relative establishment of EFI was influenced more by the two propagule pressure indicators than by tree cover. The delimited land use-based hot spots for Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana and New York-Newark encompassed more of the actual detections of L. dispar and A. glabripennis, respectively, than the population-based hot spots. No significant difference occurred between hot spot types for A. glabripennis detections in the Chicago urban area. Implications of these findings for management and design of monitoring programs in urban areas are discussed.
As international trade increases so does the prominence of urban areas as gateways for exotic forest insects (EFI). Delimiting hot spots for invasions (i.e., areas where establishment is likely) within urban areas would facilitate monitoring efforts. We used a propagule-pressure framework to delimit establishment hot spots of a hypothetical generalist EFI in six U.S. urban areas: Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, New York-Newark, and Seattle. We assessed how urban tree cover and propagule pressure interact to delimit establishment hot spots and compared the location of these hot spots with actual recent U.S. detections of two EFI: the Asian strain of the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar (L.) (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae), and Asian longhorned beetle, Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae). Using a lattice of 5-km-diameter cells for each urban area, we used the input data (urban tree cover and propagule pressure) to model establishment and Moran's I to delimit hot spots. We used urban population size and the area of commercial-industrial land use as indicators of propagule pressure in the model. Relative establishment of EFI was influenced more by the two propagule pressure indicators than by tree cover. The delimited land use-based hot spots for Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana and New York-Newark encompassed more of the actual detections of L. dispar and A. glabripennis, respectively, than the population-based hot spots. No significant difference occurred between hot spot types for A. glabripennis detections in the Chicago urban area. Implications of these findings for management and design of monitoring programs in urban areas are discussed.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Study: Street trees and tree canopy increase home prices; Portland, OR
Study: Street trees increase home prices in Portland Oregon Environmental News - – OregonLive.com:
A Portland researcher has verified what many people already assumed to be true: trees add value to a home.
A new study says such trees increase home prices in Portland. In a paper published in Landscape and Urban Planning, Geoffrey Donovan of the U.S. Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Research Station found that, on average, street trees add $8,870 to a home's sales price and reduce its time on the market by 1.7 days.
Donovan and his co-author, David Butry of the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Maryland, reviewed data meticulously collected from 2,608 homes for sale in east Portland in the summer of 2007.
What they found was that if a house had street trees and tree canopy close by, that increased the sales price of a house and it sold faster.
A Portland researcher has verified what many people already assumed to be true: trees add value to a home.
A new study says such trees increase home prices in Portland. In a paper published in Landscape and Urban Planning, Geoffrey Donovan of the U.S. Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Research Station found that, on average, street trees add $8,870 to a home's sales price and reduce its time on the market by 1.7 days.
Donovan and his co-author, David Butry of the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Maryland, reviewed data meticulously collected from 2,608 homes for sale in east Portland in the summer of 2007.
What they found was that if a house had street trees and tree canopy close by, that increased the sales price of a house and it sold faster.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Virginia Tech to undertake investigations to improve knowledge and management of forest resources in urbanized areas; Blacksburg, VA
Investigations to Improve Knowledge and Management of Forest Resources in Urbanized Areas - VIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE:
The goal of this project is to improve knowledge and management of forest resources in urbanized areas. In pursuit of this goal, investigations will be conducted to achieve the following objectives: (1) examine ecophysiological function of urban forests and biophysical constraints to urban forest productivity; (2) investigate arboricultural practices that influence urban tree establishment, growth, health, and safety; (3) analyze urban forest structure, function, and value with emerging inventory and geospatial technologies. This project will be conducted during a five-year period commencing in December 2009. Expected benefits of the proposed project include: (1) increased knowledge about urban forest soils and their influence on landscape tree performance; (2) improved arboricultural techniques for tree maintenance; and (3) better understanding of urban forest extent and composition at the municipal scale. The research and technical outcomes of the proposed project will have broad impacts on urban forest science and management, and ultimately urban society. Numerous researchers are investigating the subjects described above in specific contexts across the country. As the results of the proposed research are synthesized with the work of others, new concepts and practices will emerge that advance urban forestry and improve urban environments.
The goal of this project is to improve knowledge and management of forest resources in urbanized areas. In pursuit of this goal, investigations will be conducted to achieve the following objectives: (1) examine ecophysiological function of urban forests and biophysical constraints to urban forest productivity; (2) investigate arboricultural practices that influence urban tree establishment, growth, health, and safety; (3) analyze urban forest structure, function, and value with emerging inventory and geospatial technologies. This project will be conducted during a five-year period commencing in December 2009. Expected benefits of the proposed project include: (1) increased knowledge about urban forest soils and their influence on landscape tree performance; (2) improved arboricultural techniques for tree maintenance; and (3) better understanding of urban forest extent and composition at the municipal scale. The research and technical outcomes of the proposed project will have broad impacts on urban forest science and management, and ultimately urban society. Numerous researchers are investigating the subjects described above in specific contexts across the country. As the results of the proposed research are synthesized with the work of others, new concepts and practices will emerge that advance urban forestry and improve urban environments.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Evaluating the Impact of Government Land Use Policies on Tree Canopy Coverage; Georgia ...
Evaluating the Impact of Government Land Use Policies on Tree ...
Paper from University of Georgia presented at American Agricultural Economics Association Annual Meeting in 2007.
Paper from University of Georgia presented at American Agricultural Economics Association Annual Meeting in 2007.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Researchers developing disease-resistant American elms; Twin Cities, MN
MPR: Researchers developing disease-resistant American elms
by Dan Gunderson, Minnesota Public Radio
June 16, 2009
Fargo, N.D.. — Minnesota could lose millions of ash trees to the emerald ash borer.
Forty-five years ago, disease struck another immensely popular tree, the American elm. Towering elms that shaded many streets were destroyed by Dutch elm disease.
The American elm is making a slow comeback.
by Dan Gunderson, Minnesota Public Radio
June 16, 2009
Fargo, N.D.. — Minnesota could lose millions of ash trees to the emerald ash borer.
Forty-five years ago, disease struck another immensely popular tree, the American elm. Towering elms that shaded many streets were destroyed by Dutch elm disease.
The American elm is making a slow comeback.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Paper chronicles the effects of war on Sarajevo's tree canopy; Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovena
A Tree Grows in Sarajevo : Journal Watch Online
A green recovery more than a decade after the siege
Desperate times called for desperate measures as the months wore on during the siege of Sarajevo from 1992 to 1996. The city’s residents treasured their trees, but cut off from energy and water supplies, they were reduced to chopping down nearly three quarters of them, mostly for firewood. A study in the journal Urban Forestry & Urban Greening documents both the remaining damage and the hopeful recovery of the urban forest. The experience serves as model for growing any city’s green canopy, the University of California, Berkeley researchers write."
A green recovery more than a decade after the siege
Desperate times called for desperate measures as the months wore on during the siege of Sarajevo from 1992 to 1996. The city’s residents treasured their trees, but cut off from energy and water supplies, they were reduced to chopping down nearly three quarters of them, mostly for firewood. A study in the journal Urban Forestry & Urban Greening documents both the remaining damage and the hopeful recovery of the urban forest. The experience serves as model for growing any city’s green canopy, the University of California, Berkeley researchers write."
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