16 City Trees
Cornell Urban Hor ticulture
Institute Director Nina Bassuk
and Dept of Horticulture Post-
doctoral Associate Fred Cowett
recently published a paper
called "Street Tree Diversity
in Three Northeastern U.S.
States" in Arboriculture & Urban
Forestry, the scientific journal
of the International Society of
Arboriculture. What follows is the
abstract, and the full paper can
be seen
here.
Abstract. Street tree diversity is wide-
ly viewed as a key component in the
resilience of street tree populations to
pests, diseases, and climate change.
Assessment of street tree diversity is
considered integral to sustainable street
tree management and preservation of
the ecosystem services and social ben-
efits that street trees provide. This paper
assesses street tree diversity in three
northeastern U.S. states— New Jersey,
New York, and Pennsylvania—by analyzing
municipal street tree inventory data strat-
ified by the 2012 USDA Plant Hardiness
Zones. Despite the lesson learned from
the historical devastation of overplant-
ed American elms (Ulmus americana)
by Dutch elm disease, and awareness
of the contemporary threats posed to
ashes (Fraxinus spp.) by the emerald ash
borer (Agrilus planipennis) and to maples
(Acer spp.), and other tree genera by the
Asian longhorned beetle (Anoplophora
glabripennis), results presented here
indicate a current concentration of street
trees among a relatively small number
of species and genera, and in particular
the dominance of maples as street trees.
Results also show a positive relationship
between street tree diversity and warmer
Swamp white oak (Quercus bicolor) Photo by Michelle Sutton
Street Tree Diversity in Three
Northeastern U.S. States
New Publication!
average minimum winter temperatures.
Consequently, there is a clear need in
all three states for greater species and
genus diversity in statewide and munic-
ipal street tree populations. However,
meaningful impediments exist to increas-
ing street tree diversity, especially in the
short term.
