Using big data to improve ecotype matching for Magnolias in urban forestry

Watkins, Harry; Cameron, Ross; Sjöman, Henrik; Hitchmough, James

doi:10.1016/j.ufug.2019.126580

Cited by 15 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…This is likely to bias the evaluation of species in specialist horticultural texts (heuristic literature), particularly for taxonomic groups that are not well studied. As demonstrated in the genus Magnolia , the use of species distribution models (SDMs) that integrate observational and climate data offer opportunities to identify new species’ ecotypes (provenances) from which to recruit plant material for urban forestry (Watkins et al., 2020). These models in combination with plant functional trait data offer exciting opportunities to evaluate woody flora for future climate scenarios.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For other species, discrepancies between the apparent drought tolerance indicated by summer leaf Ψ P0 and the tolerance index based on crown condition may be that those species that avoid drought through isohydric behavior (Martínez‐Vilalta & Garcia‐Forner, 2017) or deep rooting strategies (Canadell et al., 1996) do not necessarily have an ability to cope with low leaf water potential. Variation in putative drought tolerance may also arise as a function of data being derived from different ecotypes or provenances (Watkins et al., 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Using botanic gardens and arboreta to help identify urban trees for the future

Hirons

Watkins

Baxter

et al. 2020

Plants People Planet

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Diversification of urban forests is essential to enhance their resilience to future biotic threats as well as those posed by a changing climate. Arboreta and botanic gardens host a wide range of plant material that can be evaluated to inform tree selection policy. This study demonstrates that plant functional traits, such as the water potential at leaf turgor loss, can be highly instructive when developing evidence‐based recommendations for urban environments. However, if botanic collections are to fulfill a critical role in understanding plant response to environment, they should not be managed solely as visitor attractions but must have scientific objectives at the forefront of management policy.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using botanic gardens and arboreta to help identify urban trees for the future

Hirons

Watkins

Baxter

et al. 2020

Plants People Planet

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“…Among others, their contribution to air pollution removal (Grote et al 2016;Nowak et al 2006;Pace et al 2020), cooling by transpiration and shading (Rahman et al 2020a, b), habitat and biodiversity maintenance (Alvey 2006;Angold et al 2006;Muller et al 2010) and human health (Kan and Chen 2004;Tzoulas et al 2007) is of particular interest. The impact of global climate warming (McCarthy et al 2010) may be exacerbated by the urban heat island effect (An et al 2020;Moser et al 2018a, b) which both suggest farsighted future tree species selection for urban areas (Ferrini et al 2014;Khan et al 2020;Roloff et al 2009;Watkins et al 2020). In this context, Rötzer et al (2019) integrated the knowledge about the tree growth and size-dependent ecosystem services provision into a process-based model at the tree level.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards sustainable management of the stock and ecosystem services of urban trees. From theory to model and application

Pretzsch

Moser-Reischl

Rahman

et al. 2021

Trees

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Key message A model for sustainable planning of urban tree stocks is proposed, incorporating growth, mortality, replacement rates and ecosystem service provision, providing a basis for planning of urban tree stocks. Abstract Many recent studies have improved the knowledge about urban trees, their structures, functions, and ecosystem services. We introduce a concept and model for the sustainable management of urban trees, analogous to the concept of sustainable forestry developed by Carl von Carlowitz and others. The main drivers of the model are species-specific tree diameter growth functions and mortality rates. Based on the initial tree stock and options for the annual replanting, the shift of the distribution of the number of trees per age class can be predicted with progressing time. Structural characteristics such as biomass and leaf area are derived from tree dimensions that can be related to functions such as carbon sequestration or cooling. To demonstrate the potential of the dynamic model, we first show how different initial stocks of trees can be quantitatively assessed by sustainability indicators compared to a target stock. Second, we derive proxy variables for ecosystem services (e.g. biomass for carbon sequestration, leaf area for deposition and shading) from a given distribution of the number of trees per age class. Third, we show by scenario analyses how selected ecosystem services and functions may be improved by combining complementary tree species. We exercise one aspect (cooling) of one ecosystem service (temperature mitigation) as an example. The approach integrates mosaic pieces of knowledge about urban trees, their structures, functions, and resulting ecosystem services. The presented model makes this knowledge available for a sustainable management of urban tree stocks. We discuss the potential and relevance of the developed concept and model for ecologically and economically sustainable planning and management, in view of progressing urbanization and environmental changes.

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“…Alongside the barriers presented by working with an emerging theoretical field, the silo thinking that exists within urban forestry research needs to be overcome. Practitioners still place considerable emphasis on the heuristic literature (i.e., based on experience rather than standardised trials per Watkins et al, 2020), resulting in a slow feedback loop between research and practise, with tree nurseries yet to report changing sales patterns in spite of recent advances in the scope and focus of species selection guidance (e.g., Hirons and Sjöman, 2018). Where attempts have been made to use Plant Functional Types (PFT) in urban forestry, these have predominantly used traits that describe hypothetical ecosystem service delivery (Baraldi et al, 2019;Núñez-Florez et al, 2019) or include aesthetic criteria (Conway and Vander Vecht, 2015;Goodness et al, 2016;Goodness, 2018) rather than the fundamental ability of a tree to persist in an environment, which is the prerequisite for any other values that a tree might provide once it is mature.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can Trait-Based Schemes Be Used to Select Species in Urban Forestry?

Watkins

Hirons

Sjöman

et al. 2021

Front. Sustain. Cities

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Urban forests in northern Europe are threatened by climate change and biosecurity risks, and in response, city planners are urged to select a wider portfolio of tree species to mitigate the risks of species die-off. However, selecting the right species is a challenge, as most guidance available to specifiers focuses on ecosystem service delivery rather than the information most critical to tree establishment: the ability of a species to tolerate the stresses found in a given place. In this paper, we investigate the potential of using ecological techniques to describe ecological traits at the level of species selection, and the potential of functional ecology theories to identify species that are not widely discussed or specified at present but might be suitable. We collected trait data on 167 tree species across 37 genera, including 38 species within a case study genus, Magnolia L., and tested four theories that posit ways in which traits trade off against each other in predictable ways. We found that at this scale, most species recommended for urban forestry tend to be ordinated along an axis of variation describing pace of life and stress tolerance, and that most Magnolia species are described as being fast-growing rather than stress-tolerant, although there is a degree of inter-specific variation. Further, we found that only one theory offers a succinct and reliable way of describing physiological strategies but translating ecological theory into a form appropriate for urban forestry will require further work.

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Using big data to improve ecotype matching for Magnolias in urban forestry

Abstract: This is a repository copy of Using big data to improve ecotype matching for Magnolias in urban forestry.

Cited by 15 publications

References 60 publications

Using botanic gardens and arboreta to help identify urban trees for the future

Using botanic gardens and arboreta to help identify urban trees for the future

Towards sustainable management of the stock and ecosystem services of urban trees. From theory to model and application

Can Trait-Based Schemes Be Used to Select Species in Urban Forestry?

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