Urban Forest Change on the Ursinus College Campus: An Analysis of Tree Removals and Plantings During the Last Five Years (2017-2022)
This analysis was a stewardship component of the Fall 2022 edition of ENV-332 Forests and People.
Description
An urban forest is a community ecosystem consisting of a variety of trees and shrubs that benefit both people and wildlife residing in cities, suburbs, and exurbs (Nowak et al 2010). Proper maintenance of the urban forest, particularly in terms of maintaining sufficient canopy and leaf area, optimizes ecosystem services (Nowak et al. 2016), such as climate regulation, reduction of energy usage, improving air quality, and reduction of stormwater impacts as well as the potential to address food in security (Clark and Nicholas 2013) and provide important mental health benefits (Rajoo et al. 2020), including for students (Rajoo et al. 2018). The removal and addition of trees and shrubs throughout the city can alter the composition of the urban forest. Drivers of tree loss are often related to he health of trees, safety concerns about diseased trees, and the impact of these to community community members (Roman et al. 2022).
This project examines how urban forest composition on the Ursinus College campus has changed in the past five years.
