Urban forestry

[6] Urban forestry can be an important tool for stormwater management as trees intercept rainwater in the canopy, and can slow down, filter and pump water back into the atmosphere via their roots.

A lack of trees would also result in the risk of chemicals and other harmful pollutants entering water sources and collecting on sidewalks and roads, as they would not be present to increase infiltration and to help reduce and manage rainwater runoff.

In the 1930s as part of the New Deal, the federal government started implementing unfair redlining policies, which classified certain neighborhoods as "risky" areas for banks and mortgage lenders to approve in funding home investments.

[30] Urban wildlife is also exposed to higher amounts of toxic substances, including heavy metals, road treatments, or pesticides from lawns that can lead to abnormal reproduction or development.

[32] Additional support for land-use diversity in urban areas is provided in a study showing the importance of leaving dead and decaying trees on the landscape for wildlife habitat.

[31] Urban forests can alter natural diets by providing dietary supplements to wildlife in the form of fruit or nut-producing ornamental plants, trash, or even domestic pets like cats.

[34] Alternatively, in a study on the behavioral ecology of urban deer populations, the authors discussed the difficulty of managing this species due to its positive public perception as an aesthetically pleasing animal.

Multiple transcontinental research projects on urban wildlife have found that there is a consistent positive correlation between human population density and species richness across all vertebrate taxonomic groups.

[50] In April 2019, the state of Indiana enacted the Terrestrial Plants Rule,[51] banning 44 invasive nursery species that cause harm to the urban forest and attract undesirable wildlife, including tree-of-heaven, honeysuckle and autumn olive.

Urban forest related events such as planting festivals can significantly reduce social isolation problems, enhance people's experience and raise environmental awareness.

[55] The City of Denver Department of Parks and Recreation website[56] hosts interactive online tools that allow residents to view the financial impact to their neighborhoods directly related to healthy tree planting.

[58] In addition, environmental and social benefits such as air quality, climate change, water flow, real estate, and even community well-being can be quantified to determine their economical impact.

The urban environment can present many arboricultural challenges such as limited root and canopy space, poor soil quality, deficiency or excess of water and light, heat, pollution, mechanical and chemical damage to trees, and mitigation of tree-related hazards.

While in-classroom education is one method of training, experiential learning is highly recommended in order to hone the more technical aspects of the field, such as tree inventory, planting, and pest management.

Earning credentials and certifications through professional organizations, such as the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) and the Tree Care Industry Association (TCIA), are often specific qualifications for becoming an urban forester.

In late March 2019, the Nashville Metro Council announced its plan to cut down 21 cherry trees from Riverfront Park so that a temporary outdoor stage could be constructed for the NFL draft.

[79][80] Immediate public outcry from residents, including a Change.org petition that garnered over 80,000 signatures, pressured the city and the NFL to revise the plan so that only 10 trees would be uprooted and relocated, leaving the remaining ones untouched.

Maintaining a healthy population of public trees in cities helps to reduce the effect of environmental issues that are common in urban landscapes, such as air pollution and waste heat.

[95] It allows aspects of the forest, such as ecosystem services and benefits, species composition, canopy distribution, and health, to be monitored and predicted for current and future management needs.

[103] Cities and urban areas are more vulnerable to the growing impacts of climate change due to high amounts of paved surfaces, increased pollution, denser human population, and concentration of built structures.

A report published by the United States Department of Agriculture addresses the different ways that an urban forestry program can work to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Some strategies include maintaining natural order (restore riparian buffers and use prescribed fires), promote an integrated pest management program, sustain native animal habitat, and reduce landscape fragmentation among others.

[108] Regions of the municipality experiencing disproportionately poor air quality, flooding, elevated heat, and high rates of health concerns are then mapped to plan for large-scale planting of ideal tree species.

[123] A case study performed on the Kerwa Forest Area, 10 km from the city of Bhopal, India, evaluated the effects of human impact and capacity of ecosystems services.

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.

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).

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).

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).

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.

Australia is susceptible to variable climatic intensities due to the Southern Annular Mode (SAM), a dynamic circulation pattern promoting warm and dry conditions via cold front redirection.