A newly released study in Ecological Applications outlines that trees located in New York City and Boston suffer more severely from heat waves and drought compared to similar species found in nearby rural forests. This research, conducted by scientists at the Advanced Science Research Center at the CUNY Graduate Center (CUNY ASRC), emphasizes the difficulties that urban trees confront in the face of climate change and highlights the need for customized urban forestry management strategies to safeguard tree species and diminish urban heat islands.
The timing of this research is crucial, considering the record-breaking rise in global temperatures and the ongoing hottest summer in recorded history. As cities struggle with the fallout from climate change, this study sheds light on how the well-being of urban trees and the essential ecosystem services they provide could be at risk.
Key Findings:
- Trees in urban areas like NYC and Boston face more severe negative effects from heat waves and drought in comparison to rural trees.
- During extreme weather events, urban trees show a notable decline in growth rates and their ability to store carbon.
- Researchers believe that the challenging urban conditions, marked by increased heat, dryness, and pollution, intensify the susceptibility of these trees to climatic stressors.
In their research, scientists analyzed tree cores from both urban and rural forests to recreate past growth rates and correlated them with climate data. The aim was to assess whether urban trees are more detrimental affected by climate stress than those in rural settings. The results indicated that urban trees experience greater challenges during heat waves and droughts, raising alarm about their future health and capacity to deliver vital ecosystem services.
“Trees play a critical role in urban sustainability and strategies for climate resilience, providing advantages like lowering temperatures, managing stormwater, creating recreational areas, supporting biodiversity, and enhancing human health,” stated the study’s lead researcher Andrew Reinmann, a professor involved with CUNY ASRC’s Environmental Science Initiative and Hunter College’s Department of Geography and Environmental Science. “Gaining a deeper understanding of why urban trees are more sensitive to climate stress is essential so that urban planners, forest managers, community organizations, and policymakers can formulate effective urban forestry strategies.”
Such strategies might involve developing new management practices that optimize the size of tree planting areas and choosing tree species that are better adapted to urban environments.
This research was supported by The City University of New York (CUNY), the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Services Northern Research Station, Barnard College Summer Research Institute, the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, and the NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates program.
