Canada’s urban forests play a critical role in local environmental systems and conditions, and will likely be the most influential forest of the 21st century (Nowak et al. 2001; Dwyer et al. 2003). Winnipeg is home to the largest remaining elm forest in North America and has a long and unique history with its residents. While a great deal of research has examined the many urban forest benefits, there was opportunity to further develop an understanding of residents expressed values and preferences in relation to Winnipeg’s urban forest ecosystems. The study adopted a qualitative research approach, collecting data through multiple methods including site tours, participant journals, photo elicitation, and follow-up semi-structured interviews. The results indicate that Winnipeggers have deeply held urban forest values, particularly in relation to aesthetics, naturalness and biodiversity, and social values such as recreation and alternative uses. Personal development of the values held began early in life, has occurred over time, and is continually reassessed through critical reflection.

Canada’s urban forests play a critical role in local environmental systems and conditions, and will likely be the most influential forest of the 21st century (Nowak et al. 2001; Dwyer et al. 2003). Winnipeg is home to the largest remaining elm forest in North America and has a long and unique history with its residents. While a great deal of research has examined the many urban forest benefits, there was opportunity to further develop an understanding of residents expressed values and preferences in relation to Winnipeg’s urban forest ecosystems. The study adopted a qualitative research approach, collecting data through multiple methods including site tours, participant journals, photo elicitation, and follow-up semi-structured interviews. The results indicate that Winnipeggers have deeply held urban forest values, particularly in relation to aesthetics, naturalness and biodiversity, and social values such as recreation and alternative uses. Personal development of the values held began early in life, has occurred over time, and is continually reassessed through critical reflection.

Tree selection is critical to ensuring that urban forests are diverse, healthy, and adapted to the urban environment. Climate is one of the main controllers of plant distribution around the world, so tree species are expected to redistribute as a result of climate change. This research aimed to identify which eastern North American tree species should be most suited for planting in urban areas in Halifax given impending climate change. A database was developed for 57 tree species and 95 tree characteristics to enable analysis of tree species native to eastern North America. The results of previous climate envelope research and the database were used to identify the tree species most suitable for planting in Halifax. Of the 57 tree species examined, 16 were identified as most suited for the Halifax urban forest of the 21st century.

This report analyzes urban tree canopy cover (UTC) in Austin, Texas in 2006 using a Geographic Information System (GIS) geoprocessing method developed by the U.S. Forest Service. Findings reveal where UTC exists, could exist, and where it could be prioritized (physically speaking) throughout the Austin region. Results are explained through the context of natural regions and land use to further characterize the urban forest distribution with the purpose of gaining valuable big-picture insights as to where environmental benefits have resulted from local land use planning decisions, development tendencies, and forestry management practices in Austin. / text

In an increasingly urbanized world, how cities are designed and built affect how urbanites connect to the natural world and develop an ecological consciousness. Findings indicate that people value different urban landscapes for unique reasons but that urban trees provide numerous aesthetic, psychological, social, educational, ecological, moral and economic benefits. Many urban forest values are interwoven across these value categories. How people defined nature, what emotional states the landscape engendered and how they were able to actively engage with natural elements within urban landscapes all influenced participants? sense of belonging to a broader natural community. Overall, findings support the notion that naturalized spaces, even small spaces, can invoke a sense of connectedness with nature within participants. Yet, many respondents suggest that urban nature experiences may not be enough for the general population to develop an ecological consciousness, rather that they require additional educational support.

Urban and industrial settings represent potential areas for increased carbon (C) sequestration and storage through intensified tree growth. Consisting of an estimated 1270 ha of land once entirely forested, Burnside Industrial Park (BIP) in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Our study examines the degree to which intensified urban tree planting within the BIP ecosystem could enhance C sequestration and storage. This was achieved by conducting a geospatial analysis in combination with construction of a C model. Three scenarios urban forest development were examined. If all potential planting spots are filled with trees by 2020, an estimated 26,368 tC, at a sequestration rate of 635 tC/yr, could be achieved by 2050. Next, we explored the challenges and opportunities associated with pursuing C offset markets as a means for funding urban forest development within BIP. A basic framework from which a community?based C offset market could potentially be established was recommended.

With more than half of the world’s population concentrated in urban areas, urban services are crucial for people’s lives. Some of these services are provided by urban trees, which are valued positively by most people. However, urban forest management (UFM) today faces a number of challenges, including accounting for the values of the public and climate change. These two are connected, since climate-driven biophysical changes will affect value provision and people’s urban forest values will determine the management direction by which we address the climate challenge. This study aims to understand how to incorporate public values and climate change in UFM by examining how people value the urban forest, how these values are managed, how urban forests are vulnerable to climate change, and how this vulnerability affects value provision. To address these questions, I review the urban forest values literature and reveal opportunities for research. Later I examine the content of 14 Canadian urban forest management plans and reveal that UFM today lacks detail in ecological and social themes. I argue that a management paradigm based on what the citizens consider important about urban forests may help deal with these shortcomings. I present urban forest values research from three Colombian cities (Bogotá, Cali, Pereira) using field tours, personal diaries, and focus groups. I then integrate this research with similar research in Canada to build a values typology that portrays how the public values the urban forest. I then review climate change in UFM and argue that climate change vulnerability assessments (CCVAs) are crucial for embracing climate adaptation in UFM. I present CCVA research in three Canadian urban forests (Halifax, London, Saskatoon) using an exploratory and expert-based method. I demonstrate that the survival of young trees and mal-adapted tree species are important sensitivity factors in urban forests. By mapping how urban forest vulnerability to climate change will affect value provision I argue that climate change is both a threat and an opportunity to bring specificity to ecological and social themes in UFM and to veer towards a UFM style that: plants more trees close to infrastructure and people; ensures tree survival by experimenting with different planting techniques and more-natural arrangements; embraces adaptive management and public engagement; and facilitates ecosystem transition without reducing values satisfaction.

Orientador: Luiz Mauro Barbosa / Banca: Osvaldo Aulino da Silva / Banca: Marco Antonio de Assis / Banca: Luiz Roberto Hernandez Bicudo / Banca: Osmar Cavassan / Resumo: O estudo foi realizado no Parque Ecológico do Guarapiranga em área urbana na zona sul de São Paulo. O Parque está inserido no domínio de Mata Atlântica que no bioma de floresta tropical corresponde a um dos mais ameaçados do mundo, apresentando poucas áreas remanescentes. As espécies que estão caracterizando a estrutura dos fragmentos estudados indicam que estes encontram-se o início da sucessão ecológica com o estabelecimento de Cecropia pachystachya, uma espécie pioneira. Com o desenvolvimento do processo sucessional surgem as espécies secundárias iniciais representadas por Tibouchina mutabilis e Alchornea sidifolia. A sucessão se completa quando o sub-bosque começa a ser dominado por espécies secundárias tardias, no caso por Bathysa meridionalis, sendo que essas espécies se substituem compondo a dinâmica da sucessão. Apesar do alto impacto antrópico os fragmentos ainda contêm alguns elementos característicos da Mata Atlântica mantendo vários aspectos de funcionalidade em relação ao processo de sucessão florestal. / Abstract: The study site is located in urban area in Guarapiranga Ecological Park, SP inside Atlantic forest dominium. This is one of the world most threatened biome of tropical rain forest with small areas reminiscences. The species that are charactering the structure the fragments show the beginning the succession with establish of the Cecropia pachystachya, on pioneer species; with the succession development appear the secondary early species represented by Tibouchina mutabilis e Alchornea sidifolia. The succession finished when the sub-Bosque is dominated with secondary later species, in this case for Bathysa meridionalis. This species substitute composed the succession evolution. Though the great impact in this dominium, some areas have characterized elements of the Atlantic Forest with several aspects of the functionality with the succession forest evolution. / Doutor

Emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire) (EAB) is an invasive, wood-boring beetle (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) introduced unintentionally to the United States from East Asia that infests and eventually kills native ash trees (Fraxinus spp.). First detected near Detroit, Michigan in 2002, EAB had spread to fifteen U.S. states by 2011, killing an estimated 50 million ash trees along the way. EAB was first discovered in Virginia in 2003 and re-infested the state in 2008, raising concerns over impacts that the invasive pest might have on municipal urban forests and street trees. Despite these concerns, little is known about native ash abundance in Virginia's urban forests; as a result, potential EAB impacts have been difficult to project. In this study, street tree assessments were conducted in fourteen Virginia municipalities using i-Tree Streets®, which is a software program developed by the U.S. Forest Service that uses field inventory data to estimate street tree abundance and composition along with the quantity and monetary worth of functional benefits provided by these street trees. In addition to estimating potential losses of functional benefits provided by native ash street trees, information obtained from Virginia Dept. of Transportation was used to estimate the potential cost of removing these trees from the street side. The assessment indicated that there are about 4,600 native ash street trees in the fourteen studied localities and that native ash species comprise about 2% of municipal street tree populations on average. The highest relative abundance of native ash was found in Winchester City (5.8% of all street trees) whereas Richmond City had the greatest number of native ash street trees (estimated at 1,417). In terms of species importance (which accounts for both the relative abundance and relative size of trees in the population), only two localities (City of Roanoke and Town of Abingdon) had a native Fraxinus species among the top-five most important street tree species in the locality. In contrast, every municipality had at least one Acer species among the top-five, and eight of fourteen localities had at least one top-five Quercus species. Native ash street trees in the studied localities were estimated to provide functional benefits (energy conservation, stormwater mitigation, air pollution abatement, carbon sequestration, and aesthetic contributions) valued at over $535,000 annually, or roughly $38,000 per locality. In addition, carbon stored in these trees (about 17 million kilograms) was valued at nearly $277 thousand. The total estimated cost of removing lost ash trees was estimated at nearly $1.75 million, averaging about $124,000 for each municipality, and replacing the canopy cover and basal area provided by existing native ash street trees would exceed $17 million. In total, the studied localities would incur a gross financial impact of about $20.26 million due to losses of functional benefits and structural assets provided by native ash street trees. / Master of Science

Urban tree canopy cover is important because it mitigates negative impacts of urbanization such as urban heat and stormwater. Land development leads to canopy loss through tree removal, but some localities have regulations in place that require trees to be retained or replanted during development. The goal of these regulations is to preserve tree cover. Since 2009, Fairfax County, Virginia has had an ordinance that requires parcels to reach a certain amount of canopy 10 years post-development. However, it was unknown if the requirements of this ordinance were being met. To investigate this issue, we determined which developed parcels met their required canopy using remotely-sensed tree canopy cover data from 2021. We then conducted an additional analysis on a sample of developed parcels using their site plans to compare the canopy proposed by developers to the measured canopy from the geospatial data. These results were then compared to potential predictors of ordinance compliance to determine if there were certain attributes of a parcel that may drive ordinance compliance. Of all 482 parcels in Fairfax County that were developed from 2009 to 2011, 79.46% met their canopy requirements by 2021. For the sample of 151 developed parcels, 70% reached the proposed amount of canopy by 2021. The results suggest that Fairfax County's ordinance is promoting preservation of tree canopy cover in developed areas as intended. Zoning type, amount of canopy required, parcel size, impervious cover, and pre-existing canopy were all found to have a significant relationship with ordinance compliance. These findings could improve the understanding of the efficacy of tree ordinances in other localities. / Master of Science / Trees in cities provide residents with many benefits including absorbing stormwater, reducing pollutants entering waterways from runoff, filtering air pollutants, and lessening soil erosion. However, the removal of trees during construction reduces the number of trees, which reduces the benefits trees provide. One way municipalities are combating this issue is through creating policies that protect canopy in areas undergoing development. Fairfax County, Virginia has a policy that requires developers to ensure the land they develop has a certain amount of tree canopy 10 years after construction. This policy has been in effect in Fairfax County since 2009, but until now the county did not know if developed areas were meeting the required amount of tree canopy 10 years after construction. We used measurements of tree canopy cover as well as information from the construction plans of developed areas to determine where tree canopy requirements were being met and where they were not. Of all 482 parcels in Fairfax County that were developed from 2009 to 2011, 79.46% met their canopy requirements by 2021. We also investigated if certain attributes of a developed area may impact if that area will reach its required canopy in 10 years. Zoning type, amount of canopy required, parcel size, impervious cover, and pre-existing canopy were all identified as factors that may impact policy compliance. These findings could help other localities protect tree canopy cover using land development policies.