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Forests
Special Issues
How Urban Trees Grow and Survive under Environmental Changes
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How Urban Trees Grow and Survive under Environmental Changes

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Urban Forestry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 February 2022) | Viewed by 11103

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Gregory A. Dahle

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Davis College, Division of Forestry & Natural Resources, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505, USA
Interests: urban forestry; tree biomechanics; allometry; arboriculture
Dr. Alessio Fini

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agriculural and Environmental Sciences - Production, Landscape, Agroenergy, University of Milan, Via Celoria 2, I-20133 Milan, Italy
Interests: environmental science; urban trees; urban greening

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The developed or urban landscape is an ever-evolving environment. Urban trees must be able to adapt to the often-rapid changes in growing space, hydrology, light and wind patterns, and soil degradation that come with urban development. After the initial changes, the developed environment can slowly change as plant communities progress, and urban trees need to be able to adapt with the evolving community dynamics. As global climate change takes hold, urban environments are impacted due to local and regional changes in temperatures and precipitation patterns that are and will continue to impact how urban trees grow and survive.

This Special Edition of Forests is focused on how trees adapt or acclimate to environmental changes. Research articles may focus on any aspect of environmental change, including but not limited to direct impacts from development, gradual changes as communities develop, and impacts from climate change, whether current or long-term. Studies dealing with urban trees’ genetic adaptability to changes to the environment or ability to gradually acclimate to environmental change are encouraged. Manuscripts that discuss research pertaining to management options that mitigate or promote tree growth and development in response to environmental changes are also welcomed.

Dr. Gregory A. Dahle
Dr. Alessio Fini
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • environmental change
  • climate change
  • urban trees
  • soil degradation
  • urban development

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 3141 KiB  
Article
Can Mechanical Strain and Aspect Ratio Be Used to Determine Codominant Unions in Red Maple without Included Bark
by Gregory A. Dahle, Robert T. Eckenrode IV, E. Thomas Smiley, David DeVallance and Ida Holásková
Forests 2022, 13(7), 1007; https://doi.org/10.3390/f13071007 - 26 Jun 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1843
Abstract
Arborists maintain trees in landscapes where failure can cause damage to infrastructure. Codominant branch unions are considered less stable than lateral branch unions. Previous research has found that unions can be considered codominant when aspect ratio is greater than 0.70 when included bark [...] Read more.
Arborists maintain trees in landscapes where failure can cause damage to infrastructure. Codominant branch unions are considered less stable than lateral branch unions. Previous research has found that unions can be considered codominant when aspect ratio is greater than 0.70 when included bark is present, yet it remains unclear if this threshold is reasonable in the absences of included bark. We utilized digital image correlation to measure strain (deformation) and separation angle to failure to better understand how mechanical loads move through Acer rubrum L. (red maple) branch unions. Strain was found to be higher in the branch regions in limb failure and ball and socket failure modes and strain was greater in the branch protection zone regions of imbedded and flat failures. Strain at failure was found to decrease with increasing aspect ratio, plateauing beyond aspect ratios of 0.83. In the absence of included bark, red maple branch unions appear to become codominant at aspect ratio of 0.83. We recommend that arborists should proactively manage to keep aspect ratios lower than 0.60 and consider mitigation options as aspect ratios approach 0.70. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue How Urban Trees Grow and Survive under Environmental Changes)
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19 pages, 3067 KiB  
Article
Response of Leaf Functional Traits of Landscape Plants to Urban Green Space Environment in Lanzhou, China
by Rong Huang, Qing Tian, Yue Zhang, Yonghua Wu, Zizhen Li, Zitong Tang and Anyue Zhou
Forests 2022, 13(5), 682; https://doi.org/10.3390/f13050682 - 28 Apr 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2939
Abstract
Leaf functional traits are the essential components of adaption plant strategies and have different responses to various environments, but our knowledge of how plants adapt to highly complex urban environments through coordinated changes in leaf functional traits is limited. In this study, we [...] Read more.
Leaf functional traits are the essential components of adaption plant strategies and have different responses to various environments, but our knowledge of how plants adapt to highly complex urban environments through coordinated changes in leaf functional traits is limited. In this study, we studied the response of landscape plants to the environments of sports field (SF), park (PAR), residential green space (RES), and greenway (GW), and analyzed the effects of the different green space environments on trade-off strategies of plants based on leaf functional traits. The results showed that leaf functional traits of plants and adaptation strategies varied among different urban environments in Lanzhou, China. Leaf length (LL), width (LW), area (LA), and special leaf area (SLA) were PAR > SF > RES > GW. Leaf nitrogen (LNC) and phosphorus content (LPC) were SF > PAR > RES > GW. Leaf carbon content (LCC), leaf dry matter content (LDMC), the ratio of leaf carbon and nitrogen (C/N), and the ratio of leaf carbon and phosphorus (C/P) was GW > RES > PAR > SF. The landscape plants in SF and PAR were more adaptive to the urban environment than those in RES and GW. Among different green space environments, landscape plants in SF and PAR tended to have an acquisitive strategy with high LL, LW, LA, SLA, LNC, and LPC. In contrast, plants in RES and GW tended to have a conservative strategy with a high level of concentration of LCC, LDMC, C/N, and C/P. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue How Urban Trees Grow and Survive under Environmental Changes)
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24 pages, 4014 KiB  
Article
Effects of Controlled Mycorrhization and Deficit Irrigation in the Nursery on Post-Transplant Growth and Physiology of Acer campestre L. and Tilia cordata Mill.
by Denise Corsini, Irene Vigevani, Silvio Daniele Oggioni, Piero Frangi, Cecilia Brunetti, Jacopo Mori, Carlo Viti, Francesco Ferrini and Alessio Fini
Forests 2022, 13(5), 658; https://doi.org/10.3390/f13050658 - 23 Apr 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2983
Abstract
The goal of this work was to assess the effects of mycorrhizal inoculation and deficit irrigation applied in the nursery on the post-transplant growth and physiology of Acer campestre L. and Tilia cordata Mill. For this purpose, 144 preconditioned plants were planted in [...] Read more.
The goal of this work was to assess the effects of mycorrhizal inoculation and deficit irrigation applied in the nursery on the post-transplant growth and physiology of Acer campestre L. and Tilia cordata Mill. For this purpose, 144 preconditioned plants were planted in an experimental plot in northern Italy and were monitored for three growing seasons. Controlled inoculation in the nursery enhanced the root colonization rate three years after transplanting only in Acer campestre. Inoculated Acer campestre showed higher survival, shoot length, turgor potential and leaf gas exchange than non-inoculated plants throughout the experiment. By contrast, in Tilia cordata, no difference in root colonization by mycorrhizal fungi was observed between plants inoculated or not in the nursery three years after transplanting. Indeed, the survival, growth and physiology of Tilia cordata after transplanting were little affected by inoculation. Deficit irrigation in the nursery determined higher survival, growth and CO2 assimilation rate and more favorable water relations in newly transplanted Acer campestre. By contrast, Tilia cordata exposed to deficit irrigation in the nursery showed lower growth and unaffected survival after transplanting compared to plants which received full irrigation in the nursery. The overall results suggest that nursery preconditioning through mycorrhizal inoculation and deficit irrigation can affect post-transplant performances, although their effectiveness depends on species’ mycorrhizal dependency and water use strategy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue How Urban Trees Grow and Survive under Environmental Changes)
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14 pages, 18421 KiB  
Article
Perception of Ecosystem Services and Adaptation to Climate Change: Mirador Sur Park in Santo Domingo
by Solhanlle Bonilla-Duarte, Yolanny Rojas Mancebo, Alma Liz Vargas-de la Mora and Agustín García-García
Forests 2022, 13(4), 587; https://doi.org/10.3390/f13040587 - 8 Apr 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2469
Abstract
The rapid urbanization of cities has resulted in the deterioration of urban forests and the loss of important benefits from green infrastructure, such as the removal of Greenhouse Gases (GHG) and carbon sequestration. The Mirador Sur Park is one of the main green [...] Read more.
The rapid urbanization of cities has resulted in the deterioration of urban forests and the loss of important benefits from green infrastructure, such as the removal of Greenhouse Gases (GHG) and carbon sequestration. The Mirador Sur Park is one of the main green spaces in the city of Santo Domingo. The objective of this research was to identify citizen participation in the design and management of urban forests as a strategy for guiding cities towards a more sustainable and resilient model in the face of climate change. In this study, changes in the park’s land use were identified, 136 park users were interviewed to find out their perception of the benefits of forest cover, and the ecosystem services of Mirador Sur Park were quantified using the i-Tree Canopy tool. It was found that the ecosystem services related to the removal of atmospheric pollutants are clearly perceived by the users of the park. However, there are other services that could not be identified if there is no relationship with the users of the park, such as those related to the benefits of human well-being. Citizens’ perception and appropriation are important elements for the co-management of the park, and it would be appropriate for them to become involved in the design and implementation of environmental public policies, as well as nature-based solutions, that contribute to adequate and inclusive urban planning aimed at adapting to climate change. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue How Urban Trees Grow and Survive under Environmental Changes)
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