ASHS 2024 Conference

Climate change is expected to lead to the increased frequency and intensity of natural disasters, which will adversely affect urban tree populations. As a result of rising surface temperatures, USDA Hardiness Zones are projected to shift northward. Healthy urban trees can offer benefits which may offset some of the effects of warming. Therefore, species adaptability to urban conditions needs to be considered, and we need to understand the predicted impacts of warming better in order to design and plant more resilient urban forests. Thus, in the Fall of 2022, protocols began developing to evaluate the following areas of concern: 1: Identify underutilized tree species that might perform well in future climates. A state-wide survey was distributed to green industry professionals to guide species selection for field trials across three hardiness zones in Florida (8b, 9a, and 10b). 2: Analyze the variability of commonly used irrigation technologies on tree establishment. The project compares two commonly used irrigation bags (i.e., TreeDiaper and Treegator) to hand watering to determine labor inputs, time to establishment, and overall tree performance. 3: Determine the effects of increased temperatures on tree species commonly planted in Florida. Temperature-controlled greenhouse experiments will be used to determine the heat tolerance of 6 tree species based on future climates. 4: Analyze parking lot plantings and evaluate the impact of the mitigation of the urban heat island effect. Several randomly selected parking lots in Florida will be looked at to determine their suitability for planting based on the adverse growing conditions associated with urban heat islands. The above studies offer a proactive approach to better understanding the potential effects of warming and provide practical solutions to minimize the impact.