Brazil The
Amazon rainforest is world famous for its ability to sequester carbon from our atmosphere. Since the 1960's, cities were integrally linked with their surrounding forest in the
Brazilian
Amazonia. Modern urbanization has degraded forests, depleting ecosystem services that are vital to city functioning. Invasive species seem to be a large issue in Brazilian urban forest conservation. Exotic and invasive species are more common than native in 29 amazonian urban forests. 34.7% of all identified species are invasive, while 65.3% were native. Urban forest development and management in Brazil is supported by legislation. The 2012 Brazilian Forest code states that city halls can require green areas in residential allotments, commercial property, and in public infrastructure.
Curitiba's RPPNM Curitiba is internationally known as a pioneer city in conservationist efforts. Since 2006 Curitiba has instituted the Municipal Private Natural Heritage Reserves (RPPNM) project, allowing owners of relevant native areas within the city to turn them into privately owned natural reserves in exchange of being able to transfer that area's constructive potential somewhere else. This means instead of building on an area of Atlantic Forest, the owner of such can add what could have been built there somewhere else, allowing the building to which the building potential was transferred to surpass the usual urbanistic height and density limit, thus preserving the forest and zeroing the urban impact. The project won 2006's UNEP-Bayer Young Environmental Envoy programme.
Canada With over 75% of Canadians in urban areas, urban forests play an important role in the daily lives of
Canadian citizens. Urban forests provide numerous environmental and health benefits to the people of
Canada. Over time, the use of urban forestry in
Canada has changed. In the 1960s, Erik Jorgensen of the
University of Toronto, coined the oxymoronic term "urban forestry" while assisting a master's student with his curriculum. However, after this milestone in the urban forestry community, urban forestry faded to the background with few accounts of urban forestry being practiced. As urban forestry started gaining recognition globally and the importance of urban forestry was realized,
Canada began creating Urban Forest Management Plans (UFMPs). These plans focus on maintenance, improving canopy cover, enhancing tree species diversity, and educational programs, without focus on economic or environmental services urban forests provide. Today,
Canada is conducting studies to address the gaps within their urban forestry programs. Because urban forestry is practiced under different departments, labels, and disciplines, the true extent of urban forestry in
Canada is unknown. What made this new discipline different from prior urban tree management strategies was the sense of scale. Prior to the 1960s urban trees were managed on a tree-by-tree basis. He was a professor of Forest Pathology at the
University of Toronto throughout the 1960s. The creation of the "National Forest City" title in 2004 has incentivized urban forest development. This program has led to significant positive changes in the quality and quantity of many Chinese cities. Currently, 58 cities have been awarded this title. equal distribution of
greenspaces was found, but there was unequal distribution of public parks. These findings suggest that some social groups and populations cannot equally enjoy the recreational and health benefits of these public
greenspaces.
Nanjing Nanjing Vertical Forest Project, designed by
Stefano Boeri of Stefano Boeri Architetti, consists of two towers: one 200 meter tower that will hold office spaces, a museum, a rooftop club, and a green architecture school while the other 108-meter tower that will include a Hyatt hotel and swimming pool. With construction now complete,
native trees, shrubs, and
perennials are being installed. 600 tall trees, 200 medium-sized trees and 2,500 cascading plants and shrubs will be planted on the building facades. It is expected to absorb 18 tonnes of while providing 16,5 tonnes of oxygen annually.
Shanghai A 99 km long and 100 m wide forest belt surrounding the city of
Shanghai was completed in 2003. The
heat island issue has been significantly reduced. Another pilot project by Shanghai Municipal Agricultural Commission aims to convert 35% of the total area of Shanghai to urban forest. A forest network of two rings, eight lines, five zones, multi-corridors, multi-grids, and one chain was introduced in the project, which means planting two ring-shaped forests, an inner ring 500 m wide by 97 km in length surrounding the central district, and an outer ring 180 km long in suburban land, eight longitudinal forest belts 1000 m wide along expressways and major rivers, five large forest parks about 30 km2 each in area scattered in the suburbs, multiple green corridors 25 to 500 m, grids of forests along the seashore and in industrial areas, and one chain linking various habitats.
Japan In recent years, there has been significant national effort to deploy urban reforestation research initiatives in
Japanese metropolitan areas. The current research evaluates tree count, species richness, and carbon sequestration capacity. The
Tokyo area has planted 420,563 trees bordering 2,712 kilometers of streets. In 4,177 ha of urban parks in Tokyo, there are over 1.5 million trees planted. The urban forest in Tokyo is managed by the Japan Greenery Research and Development Center Foundation since 1973. The first planting of
camphor trees alongside rural roads is estimated to have happened around the 3rd Century (AD). The first record of government policy ordering roadside tree planting was in 759 AD. Cherry,
willow, and
Japanese pagoda trees were planted adjacent
Kyoto streets by the 9th century. In the
Ginza area, cherry and pine trees were planted along sidewalks 5 meters apart in 1873. The growth of these trees, however, was unhealthy, so they were replaced with Shidareyanagi willow trees in 1880. Japanese maple was also one of the most popularly planted species. According to Noam Bar-Levi, director of the “Derech Tzel” (“Path of Shade”) organization, Israeli cities face a significant shortage of shaded areas and are increasingly affected by rising urban temperatures. The program, known as “Sderot Forest City,” envisions transforming Sderot into a greener urban landscape. According to a report by
Channel 13, the project will include planting fruit trees and establishing community vegetable gardens along city streets, allowing residents to harvest produce for personal consumption.
Tree planting is promoted in the
Gujarat state through association with religious practices in numerous belief systems. 40% of Bhopal citizens rely on the Upper Lake, a reservoir that sits in a region of the Kerfa Forest, for drinking water. Forest degradation has increased runoff from the Kerwa Forest Area, which alters water quality in the lake. Direct overland flow transports excess nutrients from adjacent agricultural fields to the lake, which causes eutrophication and reduces lake biodiversity.
Scandinavia History , Sweden Following
urbanization in Europe, rapid city expansion resulted in forests being kept to the edge of cities, making the only urban greenspaces privately owned by monarchs, religious establishments, and other positions of power. Over time, as democracies began to emerge, the public was able to express interest in public recreational areas. Urban forest development was initially dictated by the wealthy and upper class society, yet in the second half of the 19th century, direct government intervention increased. While this number varies respectively as the size of a municipality increases and decreases, this average serves as a general statistic. When compared to the other Scandinavian countries, Denmark's municipalities are unique in that they regularly buy and sell land to the private sector. This exchange of land results in various owners of the green spaces that reside within Denmark's urbanized areas. Only around a quarter of municipalities in Denmark have woodland policies in place for managing their urban forests. The others either have a stand-alone policy (around 20%), or no policy at all (roughly 30%). After classification, recommendations for future improvements and management strategies are formed. In addition to urban zone classification, the use of i-tree inventory is also used for the assessment and management planning of their urban green spaces. Common species include
Norway Spruce (Picea abies),
Scots Pine (Pinus syl vestris),
Silver Birch (Betula pendula), and
Moor Birch (Betula pubescens).
South Africa History , South Africa
Cape Town's indigenous flora,
fynbos, is characterized by low-lying shrubbery with few trees. In response to the Cape's natural timber deficiency, alien tree species were introduced during the
Dutch occupation, beginning in 1652, to support a growing population and economy. Foreign settlers planted trees in cities, alongside new roads and around private dwellings. Compelled by the need to support a growing population and economy, Cape foresters developed new methods for growing exotic trees in the new climate. These methods, which began in the Cape, later spread to other South African colonies. Many South African towns remain characterized by road-side rows of exotic trees, which were planted from as early as the 17th century.
United Kingdom In the
UK urban forestry was pioneered around the turn of the 19th century by the
Midland reafforesting association, whose focus was in the
Black Country. England's Community Forests program was established in 1990 by the then Countryside Commission as a pilot project to demonstrate the potential contribution of environmental improvement to economic and social regeneration. Each Community Forest was established as a partnership between local authorities and local, regional and national partners including the Forestry Commission and Natural England. Collectively, this work has formed the largest environmental regeneration initiative in England. In the mid-1990s the National Urban Forestry Unit (NUFU) grew out of a Black Country Urban Forestry Unit and promoted urban forestry across the UK, notably including the establishment of the
Black Country Urban Forest. As urban forestry become more mainstream in the 21st century, NUFU was wound up, and its advocacy role is now carried on by organisations such as
The Wildlife Trusts and the
Woodland Trust.
United States History Tree warden laws in the
New England states are important examples of some of the earliest and most far-sighted state urban forestry and
forest conservation legislation. In 1896, the Massachusetts legislature passed the first tree warden law, and the other five New England states soon followed suit: Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire in 1901, Vermont in 1904, and Maine in 1919. (Kinney 1972, Favretti 1982, Campanella 2003). As villages and towns grew in population and wealth,
ornamentation of public, or common, spaces with shade trees also increased. However, the ornamentation of public areas did not evolve into a
social movement until the late 18th century, when private individuals seriously promoted and sponsored public beautification with shade and ornamental trees (Favretti 1982, Lawrence 1995). Almost a century later, around 1850, institutions and organization were founded to promote ornamentation through private means (Egleston 1878, Favretti 1982). In the 1890s, New England's "Nail" laws enabled towns to take definitive steps to distinguish which shade trees were public. Chapter 196 of the 1890 Massachusetts Acts and Resolves stated that a public shade tree was to be designated by driving a nail or spike, with the letter M plainly impressed on its head, into the relevant trunk. Connecticut passed a similar law in 1893, except its certified nails and spikes bore the letter C. (Northrup 1887). The rapid
urbanization of American cities in the late 19th century was a concern to many as encouraging intellectual separation of humanity and nature (Rees 1997). By the end of the 19th century,
social reformers were just beginning to understand the relationship between developing parks in urban areas and "[engendering] a better society" (Young 1995:536). At this time, parks and trees were not necessarily seen as a way to allow urban dwellers to experience nature, but more of a means of providing mechanisms of
acculturation and control for newly arrived immigrants and their children (e.g., areas to encourage "structured play" and thus serve as a deterrent for youth crime) (Pincetl and Gearin 2005). Other prominent public intellectuals were interested in exploring the
synergy between ecological and
social systems, including American
landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, designer of 17 major U.S.
urban parks and a visionary in seeing the value of including green space and trees as a fundamental part of
metropolitan infrastructure (Young 2009). To Olmsted, unity between nature and urban dwellers was not only physical, but also
spiritual: "Gradually and silently the charm comes over us; the beauty has entered our souls; we know not exactly when or how, but going away we remember it with a tender, subdued, filial-like joy" (Beveridge and Schuyler 1983 cited in Young 2009:320). shows the urban tree canopy of the central city, and the greenspace where the
Gateway Arch is located. The conscious inclusion of trees in urban designs for American cities such as Chicago, San Francisco, and Minneapolis was also inspired by Paris's urban forest and its broad, tree-lined boulevards as well as by the English romantic landscape movement (Zube 1973). The belief in green cover by early park proponents as a promoter of
social cohesion has been corroborated by more recent research that links trees to the presence of stronger ties among neighbors, more adult supervision of children in outdoor areas, more use of the neighborhood common areas, and fewer property and violent crime (Kuo et al. 1998, Kuo and Sullivan 2001, Kuo 2003). Many municipalities throughout the United States employ community-level tree ordinances to empower planning officials to regulate the planting, maintenance, and preservation of trees. The development of tree ordinances emerged largely as a response to the
Dutch Elm Disease that plagued cities from the 1930s to 1960s, and grew in response to urban development, loss of urban tree canopy, and rising public concern for the environment (Wolf 2003). The 1980s saw the beginning of the second generation of ordinances with higher standards and specific foci, as communities sought to create more environmentally pleasing harmony between new development and existing infrastructure. These new ordinances, legislated by local governments, may include specific provisions such as the diameter of tree and percentage of trees to be protected during construction activities (Xiao 1995). The implementation of these tree ordinances is greatly aided by a significant effort by community tree advocates to conduct public outreach and education aimed at increasing environmental concern for urban trees, such as through National Arbor Day celebrations and the USDA Urban and Community Forestry Program (Dwyer et al. 2000, Hunter and Rinner 2004, Norton and Hannon 1997, Wall et al. 2006). Much of the work on the ground is performed by
non-profits funded by private donations and government grants. Policy on urban forestry is less contentious and partisan than many other forestry issues, such as resource extraction in
national forests. However, the uneven distribution of healthy urban forests across the landscape has become a growing concern in the past 20 years. This is because the urban forest has become an increasingly important component of
bioregional ecological health with the expanding
ecological footprint of urban areas. Based on American Forests' Urban Ecosystem Analyses conducted over the past six years in ten cities, an estimated 634,407,719 trees have been lost from metropolitan areas across the U.S. as the result of urban and
suburban development (American Forests 2011). This is often due to the failure of municipalities to integrate trees and other elements of the green infrastructure into their day-to-day planning and decision-making processes (American Forests 2002). The inconsistent quality of urban forestry programs on the local level ultimately impacts the regional context in which contiguous urban forests reside, and is greatly exacerbated by
suburban sprawl as well as other social and ecological effects (Webb et al. 2008). The recognition of this hierarchical linkage among healthy urban forests and the effectiveness of broader ecosystem protection goals (e.g., maintaining
biodiversity and
wildlife corridors), highlights the need for scientists and policymakers to gain a better understanding of the socio-spatial dynamics that are associated with tree canopy health at different scales (Wu 2008).
Wardens The
New England created urban forestry policies that laid the foundation for urban areas everywhere. Initially, surface level policies, such as Nail laws and the introduction of tree wardens, were created to protect street trees. Nail laws consisted of placing a nail in street trees to mark them as part of the city's responsibility. The nails also served as a protection method from citizens that wanted to either cut these trees down or cause them any harm. Other New England states quickly followed suit. Each municipality was required to have their own tree warden, someone who was knowledgeable enough about trees to decide how to properly care for them. However, they need not be as involved. Rather than needing the tree warden to be present when the tree is maintained, now there are
certified arborists and
educational programs, so the tree warden can feel at ease about other people and companies maintaining the trees that he or she approves. As society has progressed and the technology has improved, the roles of tree wardens have adapted. For instance,
power lines have become a large issue for public trees and the development of utility forestry has been immense. Also, tree wardens and urban forest ordinances are no longer restricted to New England. They now span across the entire United States. While they generally follow similar guidelines, their policies can vary quite a bit. In order to keep policies fairly uniform, the introduction of the Tree City USA program was created by the Arbor Day Foundation in 1976.
Australia Australian urban forestry involves the care and management of single trees and tree populations throughout urban
Australia, ameliorating the livability of cities in the country. The establishment and progression of urban forestry in Australia have helped alleviate the impacts of the country's harsh climatic conditions in urban areas. The present focus is on improving tree species adaptability, resiliency, and diversity to continue providing similar benefits in a future of increasingly harsh climatic conditions.
History The first calls for conserving woodland areas in and around cities arose in the 1970s in response to increasing urbanisation and the consequent demand for recreational green space and awareness of protecting native wildlife. BOBITS – bits of bush in the suburbs – was a popular term at the time to describe these early "simplified versions of Australia's native forests" that flourished in Australian cities by the ecologist policies of the then prime minister
Bob Hawke, summarised in its 1988 Greenhouse 21C: A Plan of Action for a Sustainable Future strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Australia's understanding of urban forestry evolved during the second period to include all spaces used by the urban population. Known as a "city forest" this vision of urban forestry incorporated the economic value of urban trees and a focus on ecosystem services. The third and present period in Australia's urban forestry history is known as "city in a forest", and considers the ongoing efforts to include urban forestry as a solution to environmental and health problems. Since nearly 90% of Australians inhabit urban areas, adaptable, efficient and cost-effective methods of climate change mitigation may limit negative human consequences. Establishing, maintaining and retaining trees and shrubs in the urban environment is a
nature-based solution with potential to mitigate some impacts that climate change has on Australia's urban population. Municipalities in Australia are exploring the benefits of urban forestry for their regional needs.
Canberra A 2020 study of Australia's capital,
Canberra, explored opportunities for living infrastructure to mitigate conditions like increasing temperature and drought. The authors identified urban forests as one of four kinds of living infrastructure with the potential to provide ecosystem services like cooling,
carbon sequestration, and improved
livability. While hopeful that a high-quality urban forest can provide these benefits, the authors emphasized the importance of planning and collaboration across diverse stakeholders for successful implementation.
Adelaide Adelaide, located in South Australia's driest state, examined the potential of
green roofs to combat the
urban heat island effect. The study found that providing 30% green roof coverage significantly reduced temperature, electricity usage, and cost. Researchers concluded that green roofs and similar
green infrastructure have the potential to mitigate urban heat island effects in this region. However, climate change impacts also bring challenges to the existing urban forest. A 2019 study of 22 southeastern Australian suburbs showed that over half (53%) of the existing tree species were vulnerable to heat and/or moisture stress. A study of 2017 tree health decline in
Melbourne found significant negative relationships between tree health and climate conditions for every species studied. Researchers concluded that drought was the primary factor inducing decline, increasing tree vulnerability to secondary stressors like
pests. Researchers emphasized a need for planting trees that are better suited to the region, given predictions of hotter and drier conditions in the coming years.
Ongoing efforts Australian cities have outlined urban forestry initiatives and visions to guide future regulation of climate change challenges, as seen in the 2014 Urban Forestry Strategy Guide. Cities have set goals to double tree canopy coverage and encourage tree species
biodiversity by monitoring taxonomic composition of urban forests.
Constraints Resolving limitations will require coordinated efforts among cities, regions, and countries (Meza, 1992; Nilsson, 2000; Valencia, 2000). •
Loss of green space is continuous as cities expand and densification occurs; available growing space is limited in city centres. This problem is compounded by pressure to convert green space, parks, etc. into
building sites (Glickman, 1999). • Inadequate space is allowed for the root system. Research indicates that healthy large maturing trees require approximately 1,000 cubic feet of soil. •
Poor soil is used when planting specimens. • Incorrect and neglected staking or usage of
tree shelters leads to
bark damage. • Larger, more mature trees are often used to provide scale and a sense of establishment to a scheme. These trees grow more slowly and do not thrive in alien soils whilst smaller specimens can adapt more readily to existing conditions. • Lack of information on the tolerances of urban tree
cultivars to environmental constraints. • Poor tree selection which leads to problems in the future • Poor nursery stock and failure of post-care • Limited
genetic diversity of the tree stock planted (especially the planting of clonal material) • Too few communities have working tree inventories and very few have urban forest management plans. • Lack of public awareness about the benefits of healthy urban forests. • Poor
tree care practices by citizens and untrained arborists. == Organizations ==