Creating Urban Forests in the Anthropocene: Selecting and Planting Trees for the 21st Century

Virtual presentation for the Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards on June 19, 2024.

Transcript

1. P. Eric Wiseman, PhD Associate Professor of Urban and Community Forestry Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation Virginia Tech Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards • June 19, 2024 Creating Urban Forests in the Anthropocene: Selecting and Planting Trees for the 21st Century Source: www.ballarat.vic.gov.au/treesincob vtuf@vt.edu linktr.ee/EricWiseman
2. Presentation Outline o Sustainability challenges of the Anthropocene o Threats to urban forests that require resilience o Factors that determine urban forest resilience o Selecting and planting resilient tree species Goal: Improve your knowledge of urban forest resilience and equip you to make resilience recommendations and decisions 02  35 Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards • June 19, 2024
3. Importance of Urban Forests in the Anthropocene 03  35 “The Anthropocene Epoch is an unofficial unit of geologic time, used to describe the most recent period in Earth’s history when human activity started to have a significant impact on the planet’s climate and ecosystems.” Source: education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/anthropocene Challenges in the Anthropocene: o Climate change o Biodiversity loss o Pollution o Resource depletion o Social and economic inequities Source: phys.org/news/2023-07-anthropocene-earth-chapter.html Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards • June 19, 2024
4. Importance of Urban Forests in the Anthropocene 04  35 United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Source: www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment Source: drvijayaaluri.medium.com Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards • June 19, 2024
5. Importance of Urban Forests in the Anthropocene 05  35 Source: cities4forests.com/forests Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards • June 19, 2024
6. Climatic Stressors Edaphic Stressors Biotic Stressors Anthropogenic Disturbance Source: Loarie, Scott R., et al. "The velocity of climate change." Nature 462.7276 (2009): 1052-1055. On average, ecosystems will need to shift about 0.42 kilometers per year (about a quarter mile per year) to keep pace with changing temperatures across the globe. 06  35 Threats to Urban Forests in the Anthropocene Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards • June 19, 2024
7. Threats to Urban Forests in the Anthropocene 07  35 Source: somd.com/news/headlines/2023/24012.php Source: storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/cb5b91c1c6fd43478f01cf8e8a7d6e9d Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards • June 19, 2024
8. Threats to Urban Forests in the Anthropocene 08  35 Source: Piana, M. R. et al. (2021). Advancing management of urban forested natural areas: toward an urban silviculture?. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 19(9), 526-535. Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards • June 19, 2024
9. Source: nca2018.globalchange.gov/chapter/6 Source: www.earth.com/news/urban-trees-grow-quickly 09  35 Threats to Urban Forests in the Anthropocene Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards • June 19, 2024
10. 10  35 Threats to Urban Forests in the Anthropocene Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards • June 19, 2024
11. Threats to Urban Forests in the Anthropocene 11  35 Predicted Change in Percent Urban Tree Cover 2010 – 2060 Source: Nowak, D., Greenfield, E., Ellis, A. 2021. Climate change and urban forests report and tools. Washington, DC: American Forests. 93 p. Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards • June 19, 2024
12. Source: earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/GlobalWarming/page3.php?itid=lk_inline_enhanced-template 12  35 Threats to Urban Forests in the Anthropocene Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards • June 19, 2024
13. Source: www.washingtonpost.com/climate- environment/interactive/2023/tree-species-climate-change-north-shift 13  35 Threats to Urban Forests in the Anthropocene Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards • June 19, 2024
14. Fitzpatrick, M. C., & Dunn, R. R. (2019). Contemporary climatic analogs for 540 North American urban areas in the late 21st century. Nature Communications, 10(1), 614. Source: fitzlab.shinyapps.io/cityapp 14  35 Threats to Urban Forests in the Anthropocene Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards • June 19, 2024
15. o Range expansion o Increased reproductive rates o Altered life cycles o Weakened tree defenses o Species interactions Ways in which climate change can influence the dynamics of tree pests in urban areas: Source: www.cepralandscape.com/news-tree-pests-070920.php 15  35 Threats to Urban Forests in the Anthropocene Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards • June 19, 2024
16. Source: Dale, Adam G., and Steven D. Frank. "The effects of urban warming on herbivore abundance and street tree condition." PloS one 9.7 (2014): e102996. Gloomy Scale on Red Maple Source: content.ces.ncsu.edu/gloomy- scale-1 16  35 Threats to Urban Forests in the Anthropocene Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards • June 19, 2024
17. 1. Pollutants and debris 2. Poor drainage, aeration 3. Altered pH 4. Extreme soil temperatures 5. Interrupted nutrient cycles 6. Dysfunctional soil food web Urban Soils 17  35 Threats to Urban Forests in the Anthropocene Source: www.trianglegradingpaving.com/current-projects Source: tcimag.tcia.org/training/planting-protocols-for-challenging-urban-sites Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards • June 19, 2024
18. 18  35 Source: engage.winnipeg.ca/urbanforest/news_feed/may-10-2021 Source: stevekingonsustainability.blogspot.com, March 10 2013 Source: caseytrees.org/resources-list/tree-space-design-growing-tree-box Urban Soils Threats to Urban Forests in the Anthropocene Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards • June 19, 2024
19. Source: pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/ofr20171091 The ability of an ecosystem to withstand and recover from disturbances or changes while maintaining its essential structure, function, and ability to provide goods and services. Source: Standish, Rachel J., et al. "Resilience in ecology: Abstraction, distraction, or where the action is?." Biological Conservation 177 (2014): 43-51. Characteristics of Resilient Ecosystems: o Diversity o Connectivity o Adaptability o Resistance and recovery 19  35 Urban Forest Resilience Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards • June 19, 2024
20. Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_adaptive_strategy_theory Grime’s Universal Adaptive Strategy Theory Competitors • Thrive in areas of low intensity stress and disturbance and excel in biological competition. • Found in mesic, fertile, climax communities. Stress Tolerators • Thrive in areas of high intensity stress and low intensity disturbance. • Found in stressful environments such as alpine or desert habitats, nutrient deficient soils, and areas of extreme pH and salinity levels. Ruderals • Thrive in situations of high intensity disturbance and low intensity stress. • Found colonizing recently disturbed land. Source: leca-dev.github.io/RFate/articles/fate_tutorial_1_PFG.html 20  35 Urban Forest Resilience Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards • June 19, 2024
21. Source: www.charlottesville.gov/451/Tree- Inventory-Interactive-Dashboard 21  35 Biodiversity is Key to Urban Forest Resilience Urban Forest Resilience Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards • June 19, 2024
22. Key Traits for Tree Species Resilience o Heat tolerance o Drought tolerance o Pollution tolerance o Soil hypoxia tolerance o Pest resistance o Sturdy wood fibers and branching o Decay resistance Honeylocust (Gleditsia triacanthos) 22  35 Urban Forest Resilience Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards • June 19, 2024
23. Source: Farrell, C., et al. "Can we integrate ecological approaches to improve plant selection for green infrastructure?." Urban Forestry & Urban Greening (2022): 127732. Source: Hirons, Andrew, and Peter A. Thomas. Applied tree biology. John Wiley & Sons, 2018. 23  35 Reconcile Tree Traits with Planting Constraints Urban Forest Resilience Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards • June 19, 2024
24. Selecting Trees for Resilience  Look to natural plant communities Source: www.plantnovanatives.org/plant-communities Source: www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural-heritage/natural-communities/nctoc 24  35 Urban Forest Resilience Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards • June 19, 2024
25. Source: www.novaregion.org/DocumentCenter/View/10615/Northern- Virginia-Native-Plant-Guide---FINAL 25  35 Selecting Trees for Resilience  Look to peer localities Urban Forest Resilience Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards • June 19, 2024
26. Source: secure.caes.uga.edu/extension/publications/files/pdf/C%201013_6.PDF 26  35 Selecting Trees for Resilience  Look to future climate analogues Urban Forest Resilience Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards • June 19, 2024
27. 27  35 Plant the Easy Places First Tree Planting for Sustainability o Soil volume o Soil quality o Extreme heat or light o Runoff and pollutants o Utilities o Traffic & vandalism o Invasive plants & pests Source: Urban, James. (2008). Up By Roots: Healthy Soils and Trees in the Built Environment. Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards • June 19, 2024
28. 28  35 Invest in Site Preparation for Bigger Returns Tree Planting for Sustainability Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards • June 19, 2024
29. 29  35 Choose Nursery Stock Type with Intentionality Tree Planting for Sustainability Source: Allen, K.S. et al. (2017). Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 21: 183-191. Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards • June 19, 2024
30. 30  35 Be Picky About Nursery Stock Quality Tree Planting for Sustainability Structure Vitality Health Free of Defects Free of Disorders Strong Metabolism Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards • June 19, 2024
31. 31  35 Plant the Smallest Trees You Can Get Away With Tree Planting for Sustainability Source: : www.cambridgema.gov/digital/Stories/cityviewspringsummer2022 Source: : www.appeal-democrat.com/tree-sale-plants-roots Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards • June 19, 2024
32. 32  35 Be a Planting Technique Zealot Tree Planting for Sustainability Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards • June 19, 2024
33. 33  35 Monitor Trees for Early Care Needs and Performance Tree Planting for Sustainability Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards • June 19, 2024
34. o Ecosystem resilience is important for sustainability of urban forests o Urban forest resilience relies on our understanding of tree species o We can select tree species for traits that enhance urban forest resilience o Where and how we plant is just as important as what we plant for urban forest resilience Source: unsplash.com/photos/UewgGfZgYj0 34  35 Take Home Messages Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards • June 19, 2024
35. P. Eric Wiseman, PhD Associate Professor of Urban and Community Forestry Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation Virginia Tech Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards • June 19, 2024 Creating Urban Forests in the Anthropocene: Selecting and Planting Trees for the 21st Century vtuf@vt.edu linktr.ee/EricWiseman 35  35