Evaluation of the growth, adaption, and ecosystem services of two potentially-introduced urban tree species in Guangzhou under drought stress

Abstract

Under rapid urbanization and agglomeration of population, cities are facing various environmental challenges. As urban forests play a crucial role in mitigating native environmental problems and providing ecosystem services, cities might enhance their urban forest construction through multiple approaches, of which the introduction of exotic tree species could be an effective way. Under the background of constructing a high-quality forest city, Guangzhou was considering introducing a series of exotic tree species to improve the local urban greening, among which Tilia cordata Mill. and Tilia tomentosa Moench became the potential objects. As Guangzhou was reported to experience higher temperatures with less precipitation and face drought events with increasing frequency and intensity, whether the two tree species could survive in the dry environment required to be investigated profoundly. Thus, we launched a drought-simulation experiment and measured their above- and below-ground growth in 2020. In addition, their ecosystem services were also simulated and evaluated for their future adaption. Furthermore, a congeneric native tree species Tilia miqueliana Maxim was also measured in the same experiment as a comparison. Our results showed that Tilia miqueliana exhibited moderate patterns of growth and advantages in evapotranspiration and cooling. Besides, its investment in root development at horizontal level could account for its special strategy against drought stress. Tilia tomentosa’s vigorous root growth could be the most positive behavior of coping with water deficit, which explained its maintenance of carbon fixation and implied a well adaption. Tilia cordata showed a complete decrease in above- and below-ground growth, especially for its fine root biomass. In addition, its ecosystem services were significantly reduced, reflecting a comprehensive failure when it faced a long-term scarcity of water. Therefore, it was necessary to supply sufficient water and under-ground space for their living in Guangzhou, especially for Tilia cordata. In the future, long-time observation of their growth under different stresses can be practical approaches to amplify their multiple ecosystem services.

Assessment of spatio-temporal evolution trends and driving factors of green development in Harbin-Changchun urban agglomeration

“…First of all, some studies advocate a paradigm shift in urban development from a holistic sustainability perspective, emphasizing four aspects of natural resources, land use, and transportation, energy, pollution, and waste 28 , 29 What’s more, people-centered concepts are emphasized, including housing, employment, and transportation activities, which improve urban functions and enhance livability and sustainability 30 . At last, the performance of new urbanization is the synergistic development of material, spiritual, political, and ecological, which promote the harmonious development of human beings and nature 31 . Therefore, urban green development includes measures to mitigate pollution and emissions such as rational planning of urban layout, optimization of urban industrial structure, development of efficient transportation system, promotion of green and low-carbon buildings, optimization of energy structure, and adaptation to climate change with improving infrastructure and enhancing governance capacity 32 – 34 .…”

The Impact of Magnetic Field and Gibberellin Treatment on the Release of Dormancy and Internal Nutrient Transformation in Tilia miqueliana Maxim. Seeds

“…is a deciduous tree species that belongs to the Tilia genus in the Tiliaceae family. Tilia is a unique tree species found in China, known for its strong adaptability and drought resistance [1]. It is majestic, making it suitable for planting as a street and courtyard tree, widely distributed in Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi Provinces [2].…”

The Potential of Poplars (Populus L.) for the Sustainable Environment of Cities

“…In urbanized and open landscapes, trees can provide a diverse range of ecosystem services -among others, the mitigation of environmental degradation or enhancement of biodiversity. The impact of high greenery on cultural services is also invaluable [30,[54][55][56][57][58][59][60]. Planting and maintaining trees in urban areas is widely recognized as environmental biotechnology (phytoremediation) -the simplest and most direct way to limit air, water and soil pollution and to increase carbon sequestration due to the vast biologically active surface area that trees can produce [5,18,32,46,[61][62][63][64][65][66][67].…”