Urban forest management in small Ontario municipalities

Abstract

Urban forestry has emerged as an important and timely discipline in an urbanizing world. The practice of urban forestry has focused mainly on large urban centres but urban forests in small municipalities provide the same benefits to the residents within and around them. Small municipalities face many challenges similar to those in urban centres but a lack of resources may worsen the negative effects on small municipalities. Urban forestry in Ontario is undertaken by municipalities with little involvement from upper-level governments. Thus, the effectiveness of urban forestry in Ontario is inconsistent and sporadic, with many small municipalities unable to manage urban forests optimally. Ontario's legislative framework governing urban forestry is critiqued and compared to the system employed in the United States. Recommendations are provided for action toward a centralized urban forestry program in Ontario.

An analysis of urban forest management plans in Canada: Implications for urban forest management

“…UFMPs. Important studies of urban forest management have centred on budget issues (Kenney & Idziak, 2000), zoning and regulation (Stone, 2004), community programmes (Kuhns, Lee, & Reiter, 2005), policies (Conway & Urbani, 2007;Ottitsch & Krott, 2005), and urban forest programmes (Barker & Kenney, 2012;Seamans, 2013), but not on documentation. Here we evaluate Canadian urban forest management by using UFMP documentation as a data source.…”

Allometric Growth of Common Urban Tree Species in Qingdao City of Eastern China

“…Second, urban forest management practices could have influenced tree dimensions. For some urban street tree species, urban managers regularly prune trees to maintain their overall aesthetics and functionality [51,52].…”

Factors encouraging and restricting participation in urban forestry (Case study of Tehran, Iran)

“…Important studies of urban forest management have focused on budget issues (Kenney & Idziak, 2000), zoning and regulation (Stone, 2004), community programmes (Kuhns, Lee, & Reiter, 2005), social benefits like improved hospital recovery times and reduced crime rates (Troy, Grove, & O'Neil-Dunne, 2012;Ulrich et al, 1991), policies (Conway & Urbani, 2007;Dwyer, Nowak, & Noble, 2003;Ottitsch & Krott, 2005;Young, 2010) and urban forest programmes (Barker & Kenney, 2012;Seamans, 2013).…”