Overview of urban & community forestry - VT FRECUrban Forestry: Planning and Managing...

E R I C W I S E M A N , P H . D . V A T E C H D E P T . O F F O R E S T R E S O U R C E S & E N V . C O N S .

INTRO TO URBAN & COMMUNITY FORESTRY

pwiseman@vt.edu 540-231-5148

http://urbanforestry.frec.vt.edu

May 19, 2014

WHAT IS AN URBAN FOREST?

Nationwide

• 3.8 billion trees in urban areas

• 74.4 billion trees in metropolitan areas

• ¼ of nation’s total tree canopy cover

Naturally occurring and planted trees found in and around areas of

dense human settlement

WHAT IS AN URBAN FOREST?

Street Trees

WHAT IS AN URBAN FOREST?

Park Trees

WHAT IS AN URBAN FOREST?

Plaza Trees

WHAT IS AN URBAN FOREST?

Riparian Buffers & Greenways

WHAT IS AN URBAN FOREST?

Residential Commercial

Industrial Undeveloped

WHAT IS A COMMUNITY FOREST?

A predominantly natural forest conserved and managed by local citizens for a range of collectively determined goods and services

The City of Arcata Community Forest Barnum Tract is a community forest

located in Northern California

WHAT IS URBAN & COMMUNITY FORESTRY?

Policy, planning, and management of trees and forests in urbanized areas to

sustain natural and human environments

Goals • Maximize benefits

• Minimize costs • Minimize risks

WHAT MAKES AN URBAN FOREST “TICK”?

Natural Factors Physiography

Climate Soils Biota

Anthropic Factors Land Use

Infrastructure Disturbance

Pollution

WHAT MAKES AN URBAN FOREST “TICK”?

Extent • Amount of urban tree canopy (UTC) • UTC distribution, connectivity, and patch size • Tree count and density (stocking)

Location • Land use • Land ownership • Tree placement in the landscape

Composition • Spp. richness, relative abundance, & relative importance • Tree size and age distribution • Tree condition and maintenance history

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS AND COSTS OF URBAN FORESTS?

Benefits • Environmental benefits • Social benefits • Economic benefits

Costs • Direct costs of tree management • Indirect costs of liability, nuisances, and mitigation • Opportunity costs of foregone civic activities

Valuation • Net benefits • Benefit-cost ratio • Structural replacement value

HOW DO WE CREATE HIGH-VALUE, SUSTAINABLE URBAN FORESTS?

Urban Forest Sustainability

The Forest

Resource

The Community Framework

Resource Management

HOW DO WE CREATE HIGH-VALUE, SUSTAINABLE URBAN FORESTS?

Resource Assessment

Management Goals

Management Plans

Feedback

What Do We Have?

What Do We Want?

How Do We Get There?

Are We There Yet?

HOW DO WE CREATE HIGH-VALUE, SUSTAINABLE URBAN FORESTS?

Envision the Urban Forest

Assess Natural and

Social Resources

Define Goals

Prescribe Strategies

HOW DO WE CREATE HIGH-VALUE, SUSTAINABLE URBAN FORESTS?

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HOW DO WE CREATE HIGH-VALUE, SUSTAINABLE URBAN FORESTS?

Urban Forest Information

Environmental Information

Green Space Information

Socio-Cultural Information

HOW DO WE CREATE HIGH-VALUE, SUSTAINABLE URBAN FORESTS?

HOW DO WE CREATE HIGH-VALUE, SUSTAINABLE URBAN FORESTS?

Types of Tree Inventories • Complete Inventory (Census)

• Entire tree population • Resource intensive • Use: Comprehensive maintenance

• Partial Inventory (Sub-Census) • Critical portion of tree population • Limited inference space • Use: Prioritized maintenance

• Sample Inventory (Survey) • Representative portion of population • Statistical considerations • Use: Planning and education

HOW DO WE CREATE HIGH-VALUE, SUSTAINABLE URBAN FORESTS?

WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES TO HIGH-VALUE, SUSTAINABLE URBAN FORESTS?

• Many challenges are the result of human interactions with the environment

• Addressing challenges requires regional cooperation and public-private partnerships

• Challenges include:

- Pollution

- Climate change

- Severe weather

- Wildfire

- Insects & diseases

- Invasive plants

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WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES TO HIGH-VALUE, SUSTAINABLE URBAN FORESTS?

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2. • Issues include:

- Lack of funding

- Lack of planning

- Lack of expertise

- Lack of cooperation

- Limited scope

- Inconsistent management

approaches

• Many challenges are the result of human interactions with the environment

• Addressing challenges requires regional cooperation and public-private partnerships