By: Desi TV USA
Special Report covered by DesiTV USA, courtesy of Ethnic Media Services’ national briefing on “How Green is My City?”
Researchers at UCLA have found that if neighborhoods with below-average tree canopy in Los Angeles were just brought up to the average by planting more trees that would add more than 570,000 years of life expectancy to the current residents of those neighborhoods. Many of the world’s major cities have implemented tree-planting programs based on the assumed environmental and social benefits of urban forests. Recent studies have increasingly tested these assumptions and provide empirical evidence for the contributions of tree planting programs, as well as their feasibility and limits, for solving or mitigating urban environmental and social issues.
However, there is also an increasing empirical understanding of the limits of tree planting as a nature-based solution to climate change and pollution. Urban forest dynamics, species composition, soil dynamics, and the costs of planting and managing designed spaces are important variables in urban forest outcomes and must inform urban planting practices for successful planning and management Trees provide shade and cooling respite from extreme heat events, which are increasing in frequency with climate change. Trees provide habitat for birds and other species. And trees improve human health.
