2/2 Climate Change & Urban Environments: Adaptation through diversity
Planting trees and expanding canopy cover are important strategies for reducing climate change impacts in urban areas. However, urban trees and forests are also vulnerable to climate change through shifts in habitat suitability, pests and diseases, and extreme weather events. This webinar will highlight two compelling projects that seek to sustain the benefits of urban and community forests in the face of climate change. Leslie Brandt will present the Urban Forestry Climate Change Response Framework, which engages communities in a three-step process that includes regional vulnerability assessment and local on-the-ground action. Among other conclusions, the project has found local adaptation actions to be largely focused on increased biodiversity (including exploration of new species or cultivars) and restoration of natural disturbance regimes. Operating under the same conclusion that biodiversity leads to more resilient urban and community forests, the Nebraska Forest Service has partnered with the Kansas Forest Service on an initiative called Environmentally Adapted Trees. Justin Evertson will explain how this initiative works with nursery professionals, arborists, foresters, and outreach specialists to identify, prove the suitability of, and encourage the growing and planting of underutilized tree species in the region.
Resources:
A framework for Adapting Urban Forests to Climate Change - [ Ссылка ]
Urban Forests Adaptation - [ Ссылка ]
