Replanting Durham's Urban Forest

Abstract

Urban forests are the trees found within city limits along streets, in parks, and in backyards. This urban forest offers many ecosystem services that range from stormwater control to climate change mitigation. In the context of the City of Durham, this urban resource is being rapidly depleted due to the senescence of its mature oak canopy and threats from invasive tree pests. In order to combat this loss, the City was projected to need 1,600 new trees planted every year. The scope of this project sought to understand the present state of the urban forest by examining the current canopy through a historical lens. Historical planting efforts shed light on why and where trees are and are not located. Assessments of recent plantings, current canopy cover, and extent of invasive species in parks will offer insight for the management of the urban forest. The resulting analysis will guide the City of Durham to determine ideal planting sites for new trees to maximize environmental and social benefits with a recommendation for policy change in the existing planting procedure.