Increased drought conditions and more frequent severe storms are causing damage to the health of tree canopies across the U.S. Severe weather events that include high winds and flooding can cause partial or whole tree failure, particularly in trees with pre-existing defects. Even relatively low wind speeds can cause healthy tree limbs to break.
Building a resilient urban forest will help to reduce damage to trees and impact public safety. Downed trees and limbs are a threat to public safety and property, in addition to impacting reliable electricity and road access. In addition to healthy trees reducing risk during extreme weather events, they can help manage stormwater runoff by intercepting stormwater and reducing the intensity of rainfall. Intercepted rainfall either evaporates from leaves or slowly soaks into the ground, reducing and slowing stormwater runoff and pollutant contamination of waterways. Underground, tree roots help to increase the amount of water soil can hold, allowing for greater absorption of rain. Trees also combat climate change, the primary driver in the more frequent and intense storms, by sequestering carbon and reducing urban heat islands.
5 Steps To Creating A Resilient Urban Forest
One of the primary concerns for a municipality is public safety, which can directly correlate to the health of its urban tree canopy. By implementing the following elements, municipalities can ensure their community members that their safety is a high priority.
- Priority Maintenance – Addressing extreme and high-risk trees identified in a tree inventory to mitigate risk, improve public safety, maximize tree benefits, and reduce long-term costs. Priority maintenance, which typically includes pruning or tree removal, should be completed for larger trees that pose greater risk first.
- Proactive Maintenance – Once priority maintenance has been completed, creating a routine pruning cycle helps detect and correct most problems before they reach higher risk levels. Additionally, conducting a young tree training cycle helps improve the form and structure of newly planted trees to reduce future risks and costly pruning when the tree matures.
- Routine Inspections and Inventory Updates – Assessments are essential to uncovering the maintenance needs of trees. They should be performed by a qualified arborist regularly, in addition to after major storms. Using data collection software, such as Davey Resource Group’s TreeKeeper, makes it easy to update inventory data and schedule work.
- Planting Strategies – Planting the “right tree in the right place” will improve tree survival and condition and will help to minimize infrastructure conflicts. A tree species’ growth traits, environmental preferences, and tolerance to urban conditions are all important factors to consider against a planting site’s characteristics.
- Storm/Disaster Response Plans – An emergency storm preparedness plan addresses how a municipality’s urban forestry staff will respond to storms or natural disasters. Having a plan in place helps to mitigate, respond to, and promptly recover from storms or natural disasters. Beyond the task of collecting and disposing of debris after a storm, additional urban forest management considerations are typically included in a plan, such as staff roles, contractors, communications, and response priorities.
Solutions Made For You
Davey Resource Group’s (DRG’s) ISA-certified and TRAQ-credentialed urban forestry experts can help your municipality create a customized approach that provides the right-sized solution for your urban forest needs, including creating and implementing urban forest master plans, inventory management, and maintenance.
Contact your local DRG office to learn more about our urban forestry solutions.
Article Contributors:
Ashley McElhinney, Urban Forestry Planner, Davey Resource Group New England
