Climate-ready tree study – update for Central Valley communities

Abstract

Trees in cities provide valuable ecosystem services that can improve quality of life, but also face a variety of stressors that can threaten these benefits. Urban forests are especially vulnerable to climate change stressors because predominant species may rely on irrigation and other intensive management practices, and rates of climate change may be more rapid and extreme in cities than in rural areas (Van der Veken et al., 2008). Identifying and testing the resilience of tree species to climate change stressors is critical to the long-term stability of urban forests. By gradually shifting the planting palette to climate-ready trees, future generations can enjoy healthier and more resilient urban forests. This paper describes our initial evaluation of 12 species of trees tested for Central Valley communities as part of the Climate-Ready Tree study (McPherson & Berry, 2015).

Citation

McPherson, E.G.; Berry, A.M.; van Doorn, N.S.; Downer, J.; Hartin, J.; Haver, D.; Teach, E. 2017. Climate-ready tree study – update for Central Valley communities. Western Arborist. 43: 44-51.