Barriers and opportunities for resilient and sustainable urban forests

Manuel Esperon-Rodriguez; Rachael Gallagher; Carlo Calfapietra; Paloma Cariñanos; Cynnamon Dobbs; Ana Alice Eleuterio; Diego Esperon Rodriguez; Ali Jahani; Elizaveta Litvak; Stephen J. Livesley; Gabriel Manoli; Renee M. Marchin; Timon McPhearson; Christian Messier; Johan Östberg; Lara Roman; Alessio Russo; Maryam Saffariha; Charlie Shackleton; Henrik Sjöman; Ingjerd Solfjeld; Jonah Susskind; Jens-Christian Svenning; Natalie S. van Doorn; Björn Wiström; Jun Yang; Mark G. Tjoelker

doi:10.1038/s44284-025-00212-2

Treesearch

Barriers and opportunities for resilient and sustainable urban forests

Formally Refereed

Authors:

Manuel Esperon-Rodriguez, Rachael Gallagher, Carlo Calfapietra, Paloma Cariñanos, Cynnamon Dobbs, Ana Alice Eleuterio, Diego Esperon Rodriguez, Ali Jahani, Elizaveta Litvak, Stephen J. Livesley, Gabriel Manoli, Renee M. Marchin, Timon McPhearson, Christian Messier, Johan Östberg, Lara Roman, Alessio Russo, Maryam Saffariha, Charlie Shackleton, Henrik Sjöman, Ingjerd Solfjeld, Jonah Susskind, Jens-Christian Svenning, Natalie S. van Doorn, Björn Wiström, Jun Yang, Mark G. Tjoelker

Year:

2025

Type:

Scientific Journal

Station:

Pacific Southwest Research Station

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1038/s44284-025-00212-2

Source:

Nature Cities. 5: 35

Download (PDF 1.42 MB)

Download (PDF 1.42 MB): https://research.fs.usda.gov/download/treesearch/69023.pdf

Abstract

As cities heat up and expand in area and population, urban forests offer a nature-based solution to enhance liveability and reduce rising temperatures in cities. However, urban forests are vulnerable to climate change and face costly establishment and maintenance challenges. Here we explore four key ecological and socioeconomic barriers to achieving resilient urban forests: species selection, tree supply, tree life cycle (establishment and maintenance, including irrigation) and community engagement. We discuss how integrating traditional urban forestry practices with emerging technology offers a holistic approach to creating resilient, sustainable urban forests that can adapt to climate change while meeting community needs.

Keywords

urban tree planting, tree maintenance, climate change, community engagement

Citation

Esperon-Rodriguez, Manuel; Gallagher, Rachael; Calfapietra, Carlo; Cariñanos, Paloma; Dobbs, Cynnamon; Eleuterio, Ana Alice; Esperon Rodriguez, Diego; Jahani, Ali; Litvak, Elizaveta; Livesley, Stephen J.; Manoli, Gabriel; Marchin, Renee M.; McPhearson, Timon; Messier, Christian; Östberg, Johan; Roman, Lara A.; Russo, Alessio; Saffariha, Maryam; Shackleton, Charlie; Sjöman, Henrik; Solfjeld, Ingjerd; Susskind, Jonah; Svenning, Jens-Christian; van Doorn, Natalie; Wiström, Björn; Yang, Jun; Tjoelker, Mark G. 2025. Barriers and opportunities for resilient and sustainable urban forests. Nature Cities. 5: 35. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44284-025-00212-2.