National Forest Health Monitoring Program: Maryland and Massachusetts Street Tree Monitoring Pilot Projects

摘要

Urban forests have many components: park trees, small woodlands, riparian buffers, street trees, and others. While some communities conduct city-wide inventories of street tree populations, there has been no comprehensive, statewide sampling to characterize the structure, health, and function of street tree populations. A statewide Street Tree Monitoring pilot study was initiated by the USDA Forest Service, National Forest Health Monitoring Program to help fill data gaps in what is presently known (or unknown) about this segment of urban forests. The objective of the pilot was to demonstrate the feasibility and utility of statewide street tree assessment and monitoring. Results presented within this report document baseline street tree conditions in two comparative studies in Maryland and Massachusetts. Refinement of the methods used in these pilot studies will result in a statewide data collection protocol that can be used to assess and monitor street trees and detect changes in their condition, status, and health.