Visual health assessments for palms

Measuring the 3-30-300 rule to help cities meet nature access thresholds

“…Further evidence is available from a study in Oregon, U.S., documenting older and presumably larger trees showed greater protective associations with lower non-accidental mortality rates than younger trees (Donovan et al, 2022). However, there are still numerous benefits associated with small-stature trees, including resident preferences for flowering and fruiting trees (Nguyen et al, 2017), and cultural affinity for palms 'trees' in some regions (Blair et al, 2019).…”

Measuring the 3-30-300 Rule to Help Cities Meet Nature Access Thresholds

“…Further evidence is available from a study in Oregon, U.S., documenting older and presumably larger trees showed greater protective associations with lower non-accidental mortality rates than younger trees 24 . However, there are still numerous benefits associated with small-stature trees, including resident preferences for flowering and fruiting trees 25 , and cultural affinity for palms (which are not always considered 'trees') in some regions 26 .…”

Health condition of palm trees of Mexico City, with an emphasis on “crowns”

“…Based on the visual health assessment protocols proposed by Blair et al (2019ab) [26,27] and Bond (2012) [28], the present scale was adapted to determine the current health status of CDMX palm trees. Considering the spherical shape of the palm trees, the modified scale was composed of an imaginary circle divided into twelfths similar to a clock; this was the first modification (Figure 2), since the scale of Blair et al (2019a) [26] used segments of tenths. Through it, two absolute health variables were evaluated, and two more referring to the condition and abundance of dead fronds assessed.…”

“…This area would include young and adult fronds that theoretically should be healthy. Blair et al (2019a) [26] considered only the green, vertical and erect fronds, representing a second modification.  If the "crown" is dead or missing, enter "0".…”

“…Pursuant to Blair et al (2019ab) [26,27] and Bond et al (2012) [28], one of the main obstacles is the lack of research on the characterization of palm health within urban green areas; therefore, it is necessary to implement assessment scales that allow determining the current health condition of the most frequently found species to advance their care and management. There have been no previous studies on this issue in Mexico, and concerned about the current decline and death of palm trees (SEDEMA 2022) [29], the present study had the following objectives: 1) To determine the current state of health of palm trees by means of a scale of visual evaluation of the crown; 2) To know the diversity and structural characteristics of palm trees and 3) To determine the influence of composite variables on the ecosystem service such as the amount of shade provided.…”