Acer is a diverse genus including shrubs, medium-size trees, and large shade trees, with species creating a continuum of these forms. Maples are highly diverse in habitat, habit, bark, leaf shape and size, vegetative buds, and inflorescence
Nationally, the urban and community forests are in a state of rapid decline. About 52% of street trees are dead or dying. The average tree life of the urban areas is about five times less than in rural areas. The growing national awareness of the importance and benefits of trees and their role in maintaining a healthy environment magnifies the need for urban forestry training programs. The Southern University Urban Forestry Program (funded by USDA Forest Service, Southern Region) is set up to address the critical need for high quality, user-oriented urban forestry training for minority students, and to bridge the gap between minority participation and national forestry resources, education and management programs. This unique program places major emphasis on experiential learning activities in addition to sound academic education. The four-year curriculum will be centered around forestry, horticulture, urban and community planning and landscape architecture.
been reported and identified for remediation of urban soils ( Heyman et al., 2019 ; Sax et al., 2017 ), for urban tree plantings ( Layman et al., 2016 ), and for roadside tree plantings ( McGrath and Henry, 2016 ). However, because of the common
Decisions regarding the selection and care of trees on public lands often are delegated to public employees with limited knowledge of tree care. To provide a technical resource for the municipal employee, the Urban Forestry Notebook was developed through sponsorship by Puget Power (a major Pacific Northwest utility company), Washington State Department of Natural Resources, and the Center. The unique focus of this Notebook provided the municipal employee with information on the selection and care of 65 of the most important urban trees. It also can be used as a model by other communities who wish to improve the care of their urban trees by providing an informational resource for the public employee.
America the Beautiful and Urban and Community Forestry grant programs, part of the expanded Forestry Title of the 1990 Farm Bill, authorized funding to encourage citizen involvement in creating and supporting long-term and sustained urban and community forestry programs. U.K. Woody Ornamental scientists and the KY Division of Forestry Urban Forestry Coordinator planned and implemented the following educational programs to this end: 1) comprehensive training manual on Managing Trees in the Urban Environment, including a guide for the care and protection of trees, grant application, and managing of volunteers; 2) three publications on small, medium-sized, and large trees for urban spaces; 3) interactive hypertext version of tree selector publications; 4) statewide workshops on Trees in Communities; 5) annual statewide Urban Forestry Short Course; 5) Plant Health Care and Hazard Trees workshops for arborists. The comprehensive program brings city planners, government personnel, public work's personnel, arborists, builders and developers, horticulturists and landscape architects, tree board members, homeowners' associations, Master Gardeners, and other community volunteers together to support quality programming for preservation and enhancement of valuable natural resource of trees.
Abstract
With the rapid increase in city growth, trees have become a great environmental asset. In an urban setting trees temper harsh structural lines and provide contrast to the monotony of asphalt and concrete. Trees add value which cannot be easily measured.
reasonable amount of these nutrients. With other crops such as citrus, normal irrigation with reclaimed water provides less than 16% of the N requirement for mature trees. Although reclaimed water can provide some essential elements, the concentrations of N
Abstract
Purposefully inflicted wounds were observed on 12 species of trees commonly used in urban landscapes and along city streets. One group was observed in an urban environment in Nashville, Tenn., the other in a rural lawn environment in Wooster, Ohio. Wound closure in both environments was more closely correlated to species than to commonly used growth parameters. In both environments, Fraxinus pennsylvanica and Liquidambar styraciflua closed wounds more quickly than Pyrus calleryana ‘Bradford’, Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis, and Betula nigra.
Abstract
Plants have a great impact upon the urban microclimate in contrast to dry structural materials. Infrared surface temp can be substantially modified by evaporative cooling and the interception of radiant energy by plants to reduce the heat island characteristic of the summer urban microclimate.
High temp characteristic of surfaces such as artificial turf can be reduced by irrigation. Outdoor athletic areas covered with artificial turf should be either irrigated to permit evaporative cooling or shaded to intercept solar radiant energy.
Coniferous trees appear capable of providing a small amount of attenuation for environmental noises that are either predominantly low or high frequency in composition. However, dense wide plantings are necessary to achieve effective environmental noise attenuation from vegetation alone in urban areas and the practical value of plants as an urban “sound barrier” appears questionable.
This research protocol was approved by the WSU Human Subjects Institutional Review Board. Financial support was provided in part by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry Program on the recommendation of the