OOS 11-5 - Seeing the trees through the forest: the importance of a community ecology approach to urban forestry

Urban forests are critical to the health and wellbeing of an increasingly urban global population. Particularly in light of climate change, understanding how to optimize the ecosystem services of urban forests is of critical importance, yet our knowledge of the fine-scale patterns and processes that determine these ecosystem services is limited. We examine precise locations and size classes of individual species within a broader community ecology framework to help build mechanistic understanding to support ecosystem service expansion and environmental justice in cities. This presentation will highlight urban forests in Baltimore, Maryland, and Chicago, Illinois (USA) to examine different patterns in tree species distributions across distinct urban landscapes. In both cities, tree canopy cover falls short of recommended values but differences across the socio-demographic landscapes reflect legacies of systemic disinvestment. Trees are more abundant, larger, and have a greater species diversity in higher-income and denser neighborhoods, and these differences are starkest when examining differences between municipally planted street trees and trees that grow elsewhere in the urban matrix. When they are present, street trees add significantly to the local tree species richness, but there are extensive opportunities for improving street tree coverage. Additionally, local tree abundance and diversity is a useful entry point for environmental education and advocacy in underserved neighborhoods. By connecting with residents and understanding their motivations and limitations for engaging with their local environment, we can work to co-develop a community ecology approach to urban forestry that serves the needs of urban residents.