We introduce a conceptual model of the urban forest patch as a complex social-ecological system, incorporating cross-scale interactions. We developed this model through an interdisciplinary process engaging social and ecological scientists and urban land management decision makers, with a focus on temperate forest social-ecological systems. In this paper, we place the production and management of urban forest patches in historical perspective, present a conceptual model of urban forest patches within a broader regional context, and identify a series of research questions to highlight future directions for research on urban forest patches. This conceptual model identifies how spatial and temporal social-ecological drivers interact with patch-level conditions at multiple scales. Our integrative approach can provide insights into the role of social-ecological drivers in shaping forest health, biodiversity, and benefits forest patches provide to people in urban and urbanizing regions, with direct implications for decision-making to improve management outcomes.
Urban trees are a critical part of the 'green infrastructure' intended to make our growing cities more sustainable in an era of climate change. The potential for urban trees to modify microclimates and thereby reduce building energy use and the associated carbon emissions is a commonly cited ecosystem service used to justify million tree planting campaigns across the US. However, what we know of this ecosystem service comes primarily from unvalidated simulation studies. Using the first dataset of actual heating and cooling energy use combined with tree cover data, we show that contrary to the predictions of the most commonly used simulations, trees in a cool climate city increase carbon emissions from residential building energy use. This is driven primarily by near east (<20 m from building) tree cover. Further analysis of urban areas in the US shows that this is likely the case in cool climates throughout the country, encompassing approximately 39% of the US population and 62% of its area (56%, excluding Alaska). This work adds geographic nuance to our understanding of how urban shade trees affect the carbon budget, and it could have major implications for tree planting programs in cool climates.
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