scholarly journals A review of drivers of tree diversity in suburban areas: Research needs for North American cities

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 471-483 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie A. Nitoslawski ◽  
Peter N. Duinker ◽  
Peter G. Bush
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Urban Forest ◽  
Tree Diversity ◽  
Tree Planting ◽  
Tree Species Composition ◽  
Suburban Areas ◽  
Urban Forest Management ◽  
Land Types

Tree diversity is crucial to urban forest management. More diverse urban forests provide habitat for a wider range of organisms, increase resilience to pests and disease and, in cases where native tree species are well represented, contribute to local biodiversity protection. Studies have shown that tree diversity can peak in the low- to mid-density neighbourhoods found in suburban and peri-urban areas, emphasizing the potential for biodiversity enhancement during and after subdivision development. Most studies quantifying tree species composition in suburban areas focus on one or two major drivers of tree diversity, such as land use, socioeconomics and demographics, or the presence of natural features like parks or greenways. Furthermore, relatively little attention has been paid to the drivers of diversity for the variety of land types that make up the entire urban forest, which represent differences in tree planting and establishment practices, ownership, and maintenance. This paper presents an overview of drivers of tree species composition based on the literature, as well as factors that require further study because they play a role in determining the structure of the (sub)urban forest. These factors are examined in the context of four land types: street, residential property, park, and remnant woodland, and are organized under the following major themes: biophysical characteristics, community design, historical paradigms and influences, municipal management, and demographics and cultures. Based on what is known so far, a research agenda is also presented outlining major gaps in research on urban tree diversity in North America (USA and Canada). The information presented in this paper can thus serve as a guideline to inform urban forest management practices and strategically enhance tree diversity.

scholarly journals Stand structure indices as tools to support forest management: an application in Trentino forests (Italy)

2013 ◽  
Vol 59 (No. 4) ◽  
pp. 159-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Pastorella ◽  
A. Paletto
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Forest Management ◽  
Species Diversity ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Stand Structure ◽  
Composite Index ◽  
Mutual Position ◽  
Tree Species Composition ◽  
North East

Stand structure and species diversity are two useful parameters to provide a synthetic measure of forest biodiversity. The stand structure is spatial distribution, mutual position, diameter and height differentiation of trees in a forest ecosystem and it highly influences habitat and species diversity. The forest stand and species diversity can be measured through indices that provide important information to better address silvicultural practices and forest management strategies in the short and long-term period. These indices can be combined in a composite index in order to evaluate the complex diversity at the stand level. The aim of the paper is to identify and to test a complex index (S-index) allowing to take into account both the tree species composition and the stand structure. S-index was applied in a case study in the north-east of Italy (Trentino province). The results show that the Norway spruce forests in Trentino province are characterized by a medium-low level of complexity (S-index is in a range between 0.14 and 0.46) due to a low tree species composition rather than to the stand structure (diametric differentiation and spatial distribution of trees).  

scholarly journals Der neue Wald | The new forest

2005 ◽  
Vol 156 (12) ◽  
pp. 521-524
Author(s):  
Peter Burschel
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Climate Warming ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Climate Changes ◽  
Considerable Change ◽  
Environmental Characteristics ◽  
Tree Species Composition ◽  
Co2 Concentrations ◽  
New Forest

The current environmental characteristics of forests are marked by considerable change. Increased CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere and a warmer climate have led to a new way of looking at the forest and its management. An important part of this, for example, is whether climate changes will challenge the existing tree species composition or whether forest management can exert an attenuating influence on climate warming in the way it deals with CO2. The accumulation of carbon in living substances and the soil is ensured by sustainability concepts and realised with silvicultural experience.

How Are Managers Making Tree Species Selection Decisions in the Pacific Northwest of the United States?

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 148-161
Author(s):  
Joshua Petter ◽  
Paul Ries ◽  
Ashley D’Antonio ◽  
Ryan Contreras
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Pacific Northwest ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Selection Criteria ◽  
Urban Forest ◽  
The United States ◽  
Species Selection ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Educational Campaigns ◽  
Urban Forest Management

Trees provide an array of social, economic, and ecological benefits; furthermore, trees on public land are critical for providing those benefits to people who cannot afford their own trees. It is important to know how managers make trade-offs and prioritize different tree selection criteria in order to target educational campaigns at the state or regional level. Primary contacts for Tree City USA designated cities were surveyed across the Pacific Northwest. Of these municipalities, 79 out of 151 responded (52.3% response rate), with 6 municipalities providing responses from different departments for a total of 85 responses. Currently, there are primarily descriptive statistics in relation to tree species selection. This study provides a framework for future statistical analysis and greater exploration of how municipalities and managers are selecting tree species. Results were analyzed with a Mann-Whitney U test to compare International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) Certified Arborists® to those who are not certified across various tree species selection criteria. Another Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare small (≤ 50,000) and large (> 50,000) municipalities across the same criteria. ISA Certified Arborists® showed statistically significant differences from those who are not certified in a number of tree species selection criteria. ISA Certified Arborists® also differed in urban forest management on a city-wide scale, particularly in favoring greater tree species diversity. The differences in urban forest management between ISA Certified Arborists® and noncertified—and between municipality sizes—can help to influence future educational campaigns targeted toward increasing urban forest health and resiliency.

scholarly journals Combining Tree Species Composition and Understory Coverage Indicators with Optimization Techniques to Address Concerns with Landscape-Level Biodiversity

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 126
Author(s):  
Brigite Botequim ◽  
Miguel N. Bugalho ◽  
Ana Raquel Rodrigues ◽  
Susete Marques ◽  
Marco Marto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Forest Management ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Biodiversity Conservation ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Optimization Techniques ◽  
Tree Species Composition ◽  
Management Models ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Landscape Level

Sustainable forest management needs to address biodiversity conservation concerns. For that purpose, forest managers need models and indicators that may help evaluate the impact of management options on biodiversity under the uncertainty of climate change scenarios. In this research we explore the potential for designing mosaics of stand-level forest management models to address biodiversity conservation objectives on a broader landscape-level. Our approach integrates (i) an effective stand-level biodiversity indicator that reflect tree species composition, stand age, and understory coverage under divergent climate conditions; and (ii) linear programming optimization techniques to guide forest actors in seeing optimal forest practices to safeguard future biodiversity. Emphasis is on the efficiency and effectiveness of an approach to help assess the impact of forest management planning on biodiversity under scenarios of climate change. Results from a resource capability model are discussed for an application to a large-scale problem encompassing 14,765 ha, extending over a 90-years planning horizon and considering two local-climate scenarios. They highlight the potential of the approach to help assess the impact of both stand and landscape-level forest management models on biodiversity conservation goals. They demonstrate further that the approach provides insights about how climate change, timber demand and wildfire resistance may impact plans that target the optimization of biodiversity values. The set of optimized long-term solutions emphasizes a multifunctional forest that guarantees a desirable local level of biodiversity and resilience to wildfires, while providing a balanced production of wood over time at the landscape scale.

scholarly journals Tree species composition and structure of dry forest in Mutis Timau Protected Forest Management Unit of East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 496-503
Author(s):  
AAH AHMAD ALMULQU ◽  
NOULKAMOL ARPORNPONG ◽  
JARUNTORN BOONYANUPHAP
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Forest Management ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Management Unit ◽  
Dry Forest ◽  
Pioneer Species ◽  
Tree Species Composition ◽  
Composition And Structure ◽  
Species Composition And Structure

Almulqu AA, Arpornpong N, Boonyanuphap J. 2018. Tree species composition and structure of dry forest in Mutis Timau Protected Forest Management Unit of East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 19: 496-503. Plots 10,000 m2 were established in four sites of Mutis Timau Protected Forest Management Unit (Mutis Timau PFMU), in order to determine tree species density, basal area, importance value index, species richness and to identify the relationship betwen species richness and abundance of trees. A total of 94 species belonging to 72 genera and 45 families were recorded. Species richness and forest structure were different between sites. Moraceae was the dominant tree family at most sites, particulary for Eucalyptus urophylla. The results suggest controlling the number of species, level on species distribution pattern, silvicultural interventions to pioneer species through thinning liberation, seeding and planting (pioneer species) could accelerate the tree regeneration of Mutis Timau PFMU in Kupang District, East Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia.

scholarly journals Body size and tree species composition determine variation in prey consumption in a forest-inhabiting generalist predator

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene M. van Schrojenstein Lantman ◽  
Eero J. Vesterinen ◽  
Lionel R. Hertzog ◽  
An Martel ◽  
Kris Verheyen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Tree Diversity ◽  
Prey Consumption ◽  
Generalist Predator ◽  
List Type ◽  
Large Prey ◽  
Tree Species Composition ◽  
Predator Size

AbstractDue to physiological, behavioural or ecological mechanisms, generalist predators may show individual variation in prey consumption. This individual specialization can result from both environmental and trait variation, with especially body size strongly connected to diet. Environmental variation can thus affect consumer-predator interactions by the joint action of changes in prey community composition and predator size.We studied whether and how changes in forest environmental conditions, such as variation in tree species identity and forest fragmentation, affect predator-prey interactions. More specifically we anticipate tree diversity or spatial context to impact the predator diet directly via prey availability and prey size, but also indirectly through shifts in predator size. We used the orb-weaving spider Araneaus diadematus inhabiting forest fragments differing in edge distance, tree diversity and tree species as a model species. The species’ diet was quantified by an unprecedented metabarcoding campaign. A total of 983 spiders were subjected to molecular diet analysis, from in total of 53 forest plots.A. diadematus showed to be a generalist predator, with 298 prey items detected in total. At the individual level, we found large spiders to consume less different species, but consistently larger species. Tree species composition affected both prey species richness and size in the spider’s diet, although tree diversity per se had no influence on the consumed prey. Edges had an indirect effect on the spider diet as spiders closer to the forest edge were larger and therefore consumed larger prey.We attribute the structural complexity of the understory related to tree species composition as a driver of prey composition and its size distribution as reflected in the predator’s diet. Although large spiders may specialize on large prey, we found no firm evidence for either ecological opportunism or strong specialization. Finally, we conclude that intraspecific size variation and tree species composition define the consumed prey of this generalist predator, and that the many feeding interactions of this spider underlie the species’ success in a large diversity of habitats.

scholarly journals Die Zürcher Wälder um 1823 – Betriebsformen und Baumarten

2015 ◽  
Vol 166 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-31
Author(s):  
Mirjam Bader ◽  
Urs Gimmi ◽  
Matthias Bürgi
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Forest Type ◽  
Forest Types ◽  
Tree Species Composition ◽  
Early 19Th Century ◽  
Coppice With Standards

The forests in the Canton of Zurich around 1823 – forest types and tree species Based on early forest management plans from 1823, this paper analyses forest management practices and tree species composition in the public forests of the Canton of Zurich in the early 19th century. Forest type distribution across the canton is reconstructed and detailed tree species composition is shown for 31 communities in the north-western part of the canton. For these communities, we compared the historical tree species composition with modern data from a regional forest inventory. The results show that coppice with standards was the most important forest type in the early 19th century. Tree species composition largely depends on the forest types. The highest diversity in tree species can be found in coppice and coppice-with-standards forests. The analyses reveal no clear relationship between tree species composition and environmental factors such as climate, topography and soil. This leads to the conclusion that in the early 19th century already management had a stronger influence on tree composition than natural conditions. During the last 200 years, tree species composition in the Canton of Zurich changed profoundly. Whereas today's forests are more natural in terms of species composition, they are less diverse in species. Knowing the tree species composition in the past can thus be helpful in conservation projects, e.g. in establishing coppice and coppice-with- standards forests in order to promote rare light-demanding plant and animal species.

scholarly journals Comparing Species Composition and Planting Trends: Exploring Pest Vulnerability in Toronto’s Urban Forest

2015 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Vander Vecht ◽  
Tenley Conway
Keyword(s):  
Species Composition ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Urban Forest ◽  
Urban Forests ◽  
Common Species ◽  
Tree Species Composition ◽  
Street Tree ◽  
Local Actors ◽  
Pest Vulnerability ◽  
Forest Species Composition

Urban forests represent a valuable resource for cities but are not without costs. These costs can include time, money, and the loss of beneficial services as results of pest infestations. Knowledge of an urban forest’s tree species composition and vulnerability to pests is needed to help managers enhance services delivered, while minimizing expenses over the long-term. Recent research has explored the impacts of individual pests on urban forests, but less attention has been given to the overall pest vulnerability. In this research, tree genera currently prevalent and commonly planted in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, were analyzed using a pest vulnerability matrix to explore how the city’s urban forest species composition and pest vulnerability may be changing. Current tree species composition was derived from existing inventory data, while the planting trends of a variety of local actors were determined through surveys and interviews. Results indicate there is somewhat limited diversity in current street and non-street tree populations, as well as a number of common tree species that have severe pest vulnerabilities. While new plantings replicate some current composition and pest vulnerability issues, several less common species are also being planted. As a result, overall pest vulnerability should decrease in the future, while some ongoing management concerns remain.

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