Urban forests and their ecosystem services | Dr David Nowak (2015)

David Nowak is a research forester with the USDA Forest Service in Syracuse, New York. His work investigates the make-up of vegetation in cities and quantifies the benefits provided by urban vegetation to the environment, the economy and human health. His work has been instrumental in the development of the i-Tree software suite, an internationally recognised tool set enabling city managers to measure the value of their urban tree stock.

More than 75% of Europe’s population live in cities, which are places where radical landscape change has replaced natural surfaces with impermeable paving and buildings and where human activities that generate pollution are concentrated. Green infrastructure (parks, lawns, trees, etc.) can offset many of the undesirable aspects of urban environments and is increasingly integrated into city planning.

Trees in particular provide a host of environmental functions including shade, wind control, air quality, carbon sequestration, noise control, hydrological management and biodiversity. In addition they have been linked to improved health and well-being. On the other hand, if not managed, they can damage pavements and buildings and disrupt underground pipes and networks.

This event focusses on the population of trees in cities that comprise an urban forest. It provides a introduction to a collaborative project on Mapping Dublin’s Tree Canopy; the partners include UCD (Geography), Dublin City Council, Fingal County Council, South Dublin County Council, Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown Council and the Office of Public Works. The outcomes of the project will provide a baseline that will allow us to estimate the ecosystem services provided by Dublin’s forest, compare ourselves to other cities and influence strategic management of this resource.

More information on the project can be found at the project website https://dublintrees.wordpress.com/

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