Sustainable cities are those that have urban forests. Since 2007, more people are living in cities than in villages and rural areas. The following data table shows how urban development is increasing gradually. Today around 55% of the world is living in cities. The government needs to divert its attention to making these urban settlements as sustainable as possible. One of the most efficient ways is planting trees and green spaces within a city.
What is Urban Forestry?
Urban forestry refers to the plantation of trees and other vegetation and management of those urban settlements and the pavement, parks, streets, gardens, roads, and other green spaces that have trees are called urban forests. Urban forestry has many environmental, social, ecological, health, and economic benefits in the city and for people living in the cities. In this blog, we are describing all benefits of urban forestry.
Top 16 countries with the higher urbanization rate in 2021
| S.no | Country/area | Urban population in 2021 |
| 1 | China | 882,894,483.00 |
| 2 | India | 498,179,071.00 |
| 3 | United States | 275,050,303.00 |
| 4 | Brazil | 187,143,228.00 |
| 5 | Indonesia | 156,833,203.00 |
| 6 | Japan | 115,459,909.00 |
| 7 | Nigeria | 112,560,662.00 |
| 8 | Russia | 107,492,288.00 |
| 9 | Mexico | 102,651,435.00 |
| 10 | Pakistan | 86,636,953.00 |
| 11 | Iran | 67,125,144.00 |
| 12 | Bangladesh | 65,957,486.00 |
| 13 | Turkey | 64,911,679.00 |
| 14 | Germany | 64,513,567.00 |
| 15 | United Kingdom | 56,656,654.00 |
| 16 | France | 55,041,156.00 |
Benefits of urban forest in a city
Urban cooling
Urban forests can help regulate local atmospheric temperature and thus contribute to mitigating global warming and climate change. These trees can capture and store carbon dioxide and give oxygen. According to a study, more than 700 million of carbon is sequestered by urban forests per annum in the United States. Another study states that town trees can reduce the temperature of the atmosphere by 2 to 3 degrees Celsius and improve the health of citizens. Trees cool the air and other surfaces around them. Urban forests are also known to reduce the urban heat island effect. Since the cities have a lot of concrete infrastructure, heat can easily be trapped in those structures and lead to an increase in the temperature of cities as compared to the rural areas. Proper Design and management of urban forests can claim a huge reduction of the urban heat island effect.
Atmospheric detoxification
The trees planted on pavements, streets, parks, roads can absorb the toxins present in the atmosphere and store them in their biomass of leaves and bark. These toxins can be nitrogen dioxide, Sulphur dioxide, ozone, and many other air pollutants. In this way, urban forests detoxify the environment locally. According to a study in the US, the urban forest can remove up to 75 tones of air pollutants annually which saves 3.8 billion US dollars which was supposed to be spent on human health.
Reducing flood risk and erosion
Urban trees and vegetation are also known to reduce the flood by cutting down stormwater flow. Trees along with their holding capacity can also reduce erosion rate.
Purification of water
Trees have the ability to filter the water. Trees can treat rainfall, storm water, and rainwater which percolates in the groundwater trees can clean that.
Improves biodiversity
Urban forests are not only important for the people of cities but also important for the other life forms in the cities such as animals insects and birds. Trees provide food and shelter for all these kinds of creatures and benefit them directly or indirectly.
Energy cost-cutting
In addition to clean air water and moderating temperatures, urban forests can also be a reason for keeping energy costs down in the cities. Trees can provide cool shade in the summer and trees planted on the streets, pavements, and roads in society, around the building, on the terrace, etc. can help to cool down the temperature of the building and surrounding area. This practice can reduce the burden on air cooling devices in homes and aid in reducing carbon footprint and energy consumption.
How does an urban forest benefit humans?
Tree has a lot of advantages not only for the environment but for the people who are living in cities as well. Urban forests provide various ecosystem services like wood medicine fuel and food that are crucial for the well-being of humans living nearby. Urban forestry can also increase the recreational opportunities for the people in the form of parks, gardens, and trails which facilitate the physical and mental health of people. Urban forestry is just not very healthy in maintaining social and community engagement and it also provides a static and economic value to cities with cheap investment.
Conclusion
Urban forestry has been proven to provide the mental, physical, aesthetic, and economic well-being of people in urban settlements. Despite this, they may face multiple challenges such as congested spaces, limited resources, lack of maintenance and monitoring, and lack of interest by the local government. Urban forestry is a green solution for numerous local environmental problems. Urban forestry is not only a scientific or technical venture but it’s also a social and cultural one that requires continuous commitment and broad vision by all urban stakeholders. If it’s given proper attention state can create a more resilient and prosperous city for the present and future citizens of the city which will provide long-term benefits to all.
How to get updated Data on urban forests and green spacing?
- Your go-to repository is The Mendeley Data Repository which is publicly accessible and free to use. Mendeley Data Search, has almost 11 million indexed datasets, allowing one to search various datasets. It is used to withdraw and deposit any study material related to your research publication, including video, code, software, algorithms, protocols, and procedures, as well as raw and processed data. To learn more, go to Mendeley Data.
- data.world
- iTreeTools.org
Some useful research articles of 2023 which help in understanding urban forestry
- Elton, A. J., Harper, R. W., Bullard, L. F., Griffith, E. E., & Weil, B. S. (2023). Volunteer engagement in urban forestry in the United States: Reviewing the literature. Arboricultural Journal, 45(2), 96-117.
- Douglas, A. N., Irga, P. J., & Torpy, F. R. (2023). Investigating Vegetation Types Based on the Spatial Variation in Air Pollutant Concentrations Associated with Different Forms of Urban Forestry. Environments, 10(2), 32.
- Jamean, E. S., & Abas, A. (2023). Valuation of visitor perception of urban forest ecosystem services in kuala lumpur. Land, 12(3), 572.
