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Ask An Arborist
Certified Arborists Mikey Castello and Christopher Altman in San Francisco. Ever wonder what kind of questions are asked at the “Ask An Arborist” booth at the local street fair? I spent a lovely...
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The Effect of Trees in Paving on Stormwater Runoff
A study recently presents data showing that trees planted in paving can significantly reduce stormwater runoff. Image: D. Armson, P. Stringer, A.R. Ennos courtesy of Urban Forestry & Urban...
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Seattle’s Urban Forest Stewardship Plan: 3 Action Items Worth Noting
A Seattle street tree. Flickr credit: Dave Reid In August, Seattle released their Urban Forest Stewardship Plan, the first comprehensive update to the previous Urban Forest Management Plan (2007) that...
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Illustrated Guide To Using Trees and Soils to Manage Stormwater
First Principles of Stormwater Management Using Green Infrastructure. Image: James Urban. I’ve discussed using trees and soils (green infrastructure) to manage stormwater in two recent webinars. This...
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Who Cares for the City?
Flickr credit: Friends of the Urban Forest Today’s blog post is written by Erika Svendsen, a social scientist with the U.S. Forest Service, Northern Research Station. It was originally published at The...
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Supermodels Versus Sumo Wrestlers: Why young trees need lower branches
Someone thought this was a good idea: plant street trees that are already “limbed up” to provide clearance for cars, keep signs visible. No need for follow-up maintenance for the next 10...
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An Open Letter to the Complete Streets Movement
Flickr credit: sahunhong A large-canopy tree is a very beautiful thing. On this, most people will agree. But is not only beautiful—it also benefits its community. It provides shade and shelter,...
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Suspended Pavement Study at the Bartlett Tree Lab, Year 9
Image courtesy of Dr. Tom Smiley Here is this year’s photo from the Bartlett Tree Lab study comparing different planting methods for urban trees. This year, we can also share a graph that demonstrates...
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Video: Stomata Opening and Closing
Ever seen the stomata of a leaf up close? You know how when you learn something in school, it sounds a little abstract until you actually see it? For example, I remember learning about what stomata...
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The Space Between the Pavement and the Tree
Tree opening, or tree pit? Flickr credit: Spacing Magazine. I often get the following question from designers: what do I do with the space between the pavement and the street tree? Typically, it’s a...
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The Most Important Factor for Growing Healthy Trees
This tree isn’t looking so hot. Many factors affect tree health. Are they all equally important or are some more important than others? According to Kim Coder, soil compaction is by far the biggest...
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Is The 10-20-30 Rule for Tree Diversity Adequate?
For the last two weeks in December I’ll be re-posting some of my favorite blog posts from this year. Today’s post is by Dr. Bert Cregg, Associate Professor in the Department of Horticulture and...
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What’s Missing From the Top 10 Cities for Urban Trees
For the last two weeks in December I’ll be re-posting some of my favorite blog posts from this year. Today’s post discusses a big metric that is missing from the evaluation criteria American Forests...
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The Role of Trees and Plants in Bioretention
For the last two weeks in December I’ll be re-posting some of my favorite blog posts from this year. Generally, only soil storage is accounted for discussing the role of green infrastructure in...
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Touch the Soil: Healthy Soils for Healthy Trees
For the last two weeks in December I’m re-posting some of my favorite blog posts from this year. Today’s, by James Urban, perfectly captures what we need to do in order to create healthier urban...
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Washington State Department of Ecology: Silva Cell Functionally Equivalent to...
For the last two weeks in December I’m be re-posting some of my favorite blog posts from this year. Today’s shares some of the most exciting news we got in 2013, when the Washington State Department of...
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What Factors Determine Root Growth in Rock-Based Soils?
There is a lot of misinformation in the landscape architecture community about whether or not trees roots will grow in gravels, structural stone soils, and clear stone. Our experience indicates that...
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Final Results of NCSU Stormwater Treatment Performance Monitoring
How do the stormwater benefits of Silva Cell suspended pavement tree/soil systems compare to the stormwater benefits of traditional bioretention systems? Since the mechanisms by which the tree and soil...
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Wildlife Protector Certification: An Interview with Megan Morris
While on a recent visit to northern California, I had the opportunity to interview an energetic young woman who is at the forefront of a pioneering effort to educate fellow arborists on wildlife...
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Does Exposure to Nature Aid Long-Term Thinking?
Long-term planning has got to be one of the biggest challenges to the way we conceive of, design, and live in the world – that is also completely essential to our survival. Why is long-term thinking...
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