Stewardship Success: How Community Group Dynamics Affect Urban Street Tree Survival and Growth

Stewardship Success: How Community Group Dynamics Affect Urban Street Tree Survival and Growth

BACKGROUND


Urban street trees provide various benefits. Their establishment has been characterized by low survivals in the past 50 years. Reasons behind the low productivity are bio physical challenges and shortage of funds to take care of the trees. Community groups and home- owners have successfully participated in tree planting programs, however little research has been conducted if there are social factors which contribute to the poor tree survivals and growth.


RESEARCH GOALS AND METHODS


To obtain empirical data on the role of community planting groups in the survival and growth of urban street trees in New Haven, Connecticut, tree surveys are done using data from 1995- 2007 from the Urban Resource Initiative (URI). Community group data is gathered from annual intern reports, including group size, group planting longevity, group focus, group type, and geo-political neighborhood.

CONCLUSIONS AND TAKEAWAYS


According to the authors, social factors influence urban tree health. Community group experience and group focus are incredibly significant influencers of urban street tree health. However, there is need for additional investigation into the influence of biophysical factors on tree survival and growth, including the use of interviews.

Reference: 

Jack-Scott, Emily, Max Piana, Blake Troxel, Colleen Murphy-Dunning, and Mark S. Ashton. "Stewardship success: How community group dynamics affect urban street tree survival and growth." Arboriculture & Urban Forestry 39, no. 4 (2013): 189-196.

Affiliation: 

  • Urban Resources Initiative of Yale University/City of New Haven, CT, USA
  • Hixon Center for Urban Ecology of the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, CT, USA