Sustaining America S Urban Trees And Forests

Close to 80 percent of the U.S. population lives in urban areas and depends on the essential ecological, economic, and social benefits provided by urban trees and forests. However, the distribution of urban tree cover and the benefits of urban forests vary across the United States, as do the challenges of sustaining this important resource. As urban areas expand across the country, the importance of the benefits that urban forests provide, as well as the challenges to their conservation and maintenance, will increase. The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of the current status and benefits of America's urban forests, compare differences in urban forest canopy cover among regions, and discuss challenges facing urban forests and their implications for urban forest management.

Close to 80 percent of the U.S. population lives in urban areas and depends on the essential ecological, economic, and social benefits provided by urban trees and forests. However, the distribution of urban tree cover and the benefits of urban forests very across the Untied States, as do the challenges of sustaining this important resource.

Urban forestry is not a one-size-fits-all solution; each city and region, with its own unique set of challenges and opportunities, requires tailored strategies. In recognition of the diversity and distinctiveness of urban forestry issues and their potential for mitigating environmental and socioeconomic inequality across the globe, FAO has asked experts around the world to share their views on how urban forests and trees are perceived and managed in their respective geographical areas, bringing together a broad range of regional perspectives. The primary goal of this publication is to provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of urban forestry worldwide. By showcasing the regional perspectives, insights, experiences and case studies in urban and peri-urban forestry (UPF), we hope to inspire individuals, communities and policymakers to reimagine their relationships with urban green spaces.

Urban tree management is the key basis for greener cities of the future. It is a practical discipline which includes tree selection, planting, care and protection and the overall management of trees as a collective resource. Urban Tree Management aims to raise awareness for the positive impacts and benefits of city trees and for their importance to city dwellers. It describes their advantages and details their effects on quality of urban life and well-being – aspects that are increasingly important in these times of progressing urbanisation. With this book you will learn: fundamentals, methods and tools of urban tree management state of the art in the fields of urban forestry and tree biology positive effects and uses of urban trees features, requirements and selection criteria for urban trees conditions and problems of urban trees governance and management aspects environmental education programs. Edited by the leading expert Dr Andreas Roloff, Urban Tree Management is an excellent resource for plant scientists, horticulturists, dendrologists, arborists and arboriculturists, forestry scientists, city planners, parks department specialists and landscape architects. It will be an essential addition to all students and libraries where such subjects are taught.

“Far-ranging and deeply researched, Urban Forests reveals the beauty and significance of the trees around us.” —Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sixth Extinction “Jonnes extols the many contributions that trees make to city life and celebrates the men and women who stood up for America’s city trees over the past two centuries. . . . An authoritative account.” —Gerard Helferich, The Wall Street Journal “We all know that trees can make streets look prettier. But in her new book Urban Forests, Jill Jonnes explains how they make them safer as well.” —Sara Begley, Time Magazine A celebration of urban trees and the Americans—presidents, plant explorers, visionaries, citizen activists, scientists, nurserymen, and tree nerds—whose arboreal passions have shaped and ornamented the nation’s cities, from Jefferson’s day to the present As nature’s largest and longest-lived creations, trees play an extraordinarily important role in our cities; they are living landmarks that define space, cool the air, soothe our psyches, and connect us to nature and our past. Today, four-fifths of Americans live in or near urban areas, surrounded by millions of trees of hundreds of different species. Despite their ubiquity and familiarity, most of us take trees for granted and know little of their fascinating natural history or remarkable civic virtues. Jill Jonnes’s Urban Forests tells the captivating stories of the founding mothers and fathers of urban forestry, in addition to those arboreal advocates presently using the latest technologies to illuminate the value of trees to public health and to our urban infrastructure. The book examines such questions as the character of American urban forests and the effect that tree-rich landscaping might have on commerce, crime, and human well-being. For amateur botanists, urbanists, environmentalists, and policymakers, Urban Forests will be a revelation of one of the greatest, most productive, and most beautiful of our natural resources.

This book focuses on urban "green infrastructure" – the interconnected web of vegetated spaces like street trees, parks and peri-urban forests that provide essential ecosystem services in cities. The green infrastructure approach embodies the idea that these services, such as storm-water runoff control, pollutant filtration and amenities for outdoor recreation, are just as vital for a modern city as those provided by any other type of infrastructure. Ensuring that these ecosystem services are indeed delivered in an equitable and sustainable way requires knowledge of the physical attributes of trees and urban green spaces, tools for coping with the complex social and cultural dynamics, and an understanding of how these factors can be integrated in better governance practices. By conveying the findings and recommendations of COST Action FP1204 GreenInUrbs, this volume summarizes the collaborative efforts of researchers and practitioners from across Europe to address these challenges.

This multidisciplinary book covers all aspects of planning, designing, establishing and managing forests and trees and forests in and near urban areas, with chapters by experts in forestry, horticulture, landscape ecology, landscape architecture and even plant pathology. Beginning with historical and conceptual basics, the coverage includes policy, design, implementation and management of forestry for urban populations.

Trees and vegetation in cities aren’t just there to make the place look pretty. They have an important ecological function. This book contains studies and perspectives on urban forests from a broad array of basic and applied scientific disciplines including ecosystem ecology, biogeochemistry, landscape ecology, plant community ecology, geography, and social science. The book includes contributions from experts around the world, allowing the reader to evaluate methods and management that are appropriate for particular geographic, environmental, and socio-political contexts.