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Urban tree cover: an ecological perspective

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Abstract

Analysis of urban tree cover is generally limited to inventories of tree structure and composition on public lands. This approach provided valuable information for resource management. However, it does not account for all tree cover within an urban landscape, thus providing insufficient information on ecological patterns and processes. We propose evaluating tree cover for an entire urban area that is based on patch dynamics. Treed patches are classified by their origin, structure, and management intensity. A patch approach enables ecologists to evaluate ecological patterns and processes for the entire urban landscape and to examine how social patterns influence these ecological patterns and processes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. USDA Forest Service, 1100 Irving Avenue, Syracuse, NY, 13210, USA

    Wayne C. Zipperer, Susan M. Sisinni & Richard V. Pouyat

  2. Department of Geography, University of Maryland Baltimore County, 5401 Wilkens Avenue, Baltimore, MD, 21228, USA

    Timothy W. Foresman

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  1. Wayne C. Zipperer
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Zipperer, W.C., Sisinni, S.M., Pouyat, R.V. et al. Urban tree cover: an ecological perspective. Urban Ecosystems 1, 229–246 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018587830636

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