Many arborists and people in general understand the benefits that trees provide in forests and urban areas.
Exploring Urban Trees and Their Benefits to Wildlife
ull
Many arborists and people in general understand the benefits that trees pro- vide in forests and urban areas. They produce clean air and water, prevent stormwater runoff and provide a cooler microclimate under their canopy. It’s also easy for the public to understand that forests provide benefits for wildlife in the form of food, water and shelter. According to the Arbor Day Founda- tion, urban trees contribute $73 billion in community-wide environmental benefits each year. What’s not oen considered are the benefits trees provide to wildlife in urban forests or along the powerline right-of-way (ROW). A basic under- standing of which trees benefit native wildlife, such as insects and birds, is essential to create a fully functional and balanced urban forest. When discussing urban forests, I like to reference Arboriculture: Integrated Management of Landscape Trees, Shrubs, and Vines by Richard Wilson Harris, James R. Clark and Nelda P. Matheny. The authors describe urban forestry as the care and management of single trees and tree populations for
the purpose of improving the urban environment. An urban forest is a com- munity of trees and plants near houses or similar structures. The U.S. Forest Service also notes that urban forests come in different shapes and sizes, including urban parks, street trees, landscaped boulevards, gardens, river and coastal promenades, green- ways, river corridors, wetlands, nature preserves, shelter belts of trees and working trees at former industrial sites. RIGHT TREE, RIGHT PLACE As arborists, most of us have probably heard the phrase “The right tree in the right place.” This is the focus of many arborists and urban foresters – it takes a lot of skill and is usually a difficult task. It can be tempting to plant whatever tree fits the bill in a difficult spot. If a hardy tree will grow in that location, people tend to plant them without thinking about whether it’s native or non-native. A native tree is defined as growing in the forest naturally, some- thing that can germinate and grow into a mature tree. A non-native tree may or
may not grow naturally, and its origins come from an entirely different envi- ronment, usually on another continent. Before planting non-native trees, I like to encourage people to consider a na- tive alternative that can provide the same benefit as well as additional benefits that can slip under our ra- Central Park in NYC offers a wide variety of tree species that benefit native wildlife. Image by David Mark at Pixabay.
As arborists, most of us have probably heard the phrase “The right tree in the right place.”
ArborTIMES Summer 2023 | 25
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online