5:44 p.m.
Dear IUFRO Meliaceae Working party:
Below is IUFRO Spotlight #58. Other Spotlights can be found at:
http://www.iufro.org/media/iufro-spotlights/
Regards,
Sheila Ward
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: IUFRO Headquarters <office(a)iufro.org>
Date: Wed, Mar 21, 2018 at 7:43 AM
Subject: IUFRO Spotlight #58 - To build a healthier city, build a better
forest
To: Dear IUFRO Officeholder <mahoganyforthefuture(a)gmail.com>
[image: IUFRO Spotlight]
IUFRO Spotlight #58 - To build a healthier city, build a better forest
*IUFRO Spotlight* is an initiative of the International Union of Forest
Research Organizations. Its aim is to introduce, in a timely fashion,
significant findings in forest research from IUFRO officeholders and member
organizations to a worldwide network of decision makers, policy makers and
researchers.
IUFRO will encapsulate, and distribute in plain language, brief, topical
and policy-relevant highlights of those findings, along with information on
where/how to access the full documents. The *IUFRO Spotlight* findings will
be distributed in a periodic series of emails as well as blog postings.
*________________________________*
*To build a healthier city, build a better forest*
PDF for download
<https://www.iufro.org/download/file/28381/6627/spotlight58-urban-forests_pdf/>
*Design of trees along streets is important to minimize trapping of
pollutants along sidewalks and roads. Photo: David Nowak*
City dwellers around the world could live healthier lives and see health
care costs shrink simply by implementing better urban forest design,
planning and management.
Recent innovative studies conducted in Canada and the U.S. show that trees
remove air pollution – both gaseous and particulate pollutants – and this
has a beneficial effect on human health.
And, while the concepts of trees scrubbing the air and cleaner air having
beneficial effects are not particularly new, "the innovation derives from
linking pollution removal by trees to human health in cities," said Dr.
David Nowak of the US Forest Service, and one of the authors of the studies.
"We know the existing forest is already removing air pollution, but better
designs and management could be used to produce further air quality
improvements using trees and forests. This, in turn, would improve human
health and significantly reduce associated health care costs," he said.
"Computer simulations with local environmental data reveal that trees in 86
Canadian cities removed 16,500 tonnes of air pollution in 2010, with human
health effects valued at $227.2 million Canadian dollars," said Dr. Nowak.
In an earlier study of U.S. trees and forests nationally, again using 2010
as the base year, human health effects were valued at US $6.8 billion, and
17.4 million tonnes of air pollution were removed.
The Canadian government – Environment and Climate Change Canada – helped
fund the more recent study (Air pollution removal by urban forests in
Canada and its effect on air quality and human health) shortly after the
2014 publication of the assessment for the U.S. done by Dr. Nowak and his
colleagues.
"All countries could use and benefit from this type of information," Dr.
Nowak said. "The processes of trees are fairly consistent across the globe,
but the results will vary based on local environmental conditions and human
and forest populations.
"A series of free tools is available to aid cities and forest managers
globally in assessing their current forest structure and benefits (
www.itreetools.org). We've now incorporated this particular process into
the i-Tree Eco model to help managers estimate these and other effects and
values from trees and forests," he said.
*Since its release in 2006, there have been over 247,000 users of i-Tree
tools in 131 countries.*
i-Tree is a state-of-the-art, peer-reviewed software suite from the Forest
Service of the USDA that provides urban and rural forestry analysis and
benefits assessment tools. The i-Tree tools can help strengthen forest
management and advocacy efforts by quantifying forest structure and the
environmental benefits that trees provide.
Since the initial release of the i-Tree tools in August 2006, thousands of
communities, non-profit organizations, consultants, volunteers and students
around the world have used i-Tree to report on individual trees, parcels,
neighborhoods, cities, and entire states.
By understanding the local, tangible ecosystem services that trees provide,
i-Tree users can link forest management activities with environmental
quality and community livability.
Dr. Nowak pointed out that trees provide multiple benefits in addition to
pollution removal, so it follows that better urban forest design and
management, in addition to improving human health and lowering
health-related costs, could also reduce other urban problems and costs,
such as energy use, flooding, high air temperatures, etc.
"If better forest designs and management are instituted to improve air
quality, people living in cities everywhere should benefit," he continued.
"Even though the percentage of air quality improvement is relatively small,
these improvements in air quality impact human health," said Dr. Nowak.
"Cities are not just people, buildings, roads and cars. They also have
substantial amounts of natural elements such as trees, grass, soil,
wildlife etc. that play essential roles within city environments," he said.
Dr. Nowak said the role of natural elements within cities has been known
for centuries. "But, to better incorporate these elements, we need to
include them throughout the design, planning and management process of the
cities."
Cities would have to assess their current forest distribution and
conditions. With that information and knowledge of tree effects on air
pollution, specific management plans could be developed to maximize tree
impacts on human health.
Policy makers, he said, should recognize that trees and forests within
cities affect air quality and can be used to further improve that air
quality. Investing in improving city forests and their management can yield
improvements in human health and wellbeing and save money in the long run.
The full report can be found at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/
science/article/pii/S1618866717302182
Dr. David Nowak is the coordinator of IUFRO Research Group 6.07.00 – Urban
forestry: https://www.iufro.org/science/divisions/division-6/60000/60700/
<http://www.iufro.org/science/divisions/division-6/60000/60700/>
*________________________________*
The findings reported in *IUFRO Spotlight* are submitted by IUFRO
officeholders and member organizations. IUFRO is pleased to highlight and
circulate these findings to a broad audience but, in doing so, acts only as
a conduit. The quality and accuracy of the reports are the responsibility
of the member organization and the authors.
Suggestions for reports and findings that could be promoted through *IUFRO
Spotlight* are encouraged. To be considered, reports should be fresh, have
policy implications and be applicable to more than one country. If you
would like to have a publication highlighted by Spotlight, *contact: Gerda
Wolfrum, IUFRO Communications Coordinator, wolfrum(at)iufro.org
<http://iufro.org>*.
The International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) is the
only worldwide organization devoted to forest research and related
sciences. Its members are research institutions, universities, and
individual scientists as well as decision-making authorities and other
stakeholders with a focus on forests and trees.
Visit: http://www.iufro.org/
*________________________________*
*IUFRO Spotlight #58, published in March 2018 by IUFRO Headquarters,
Vienna, Austria.Available for download at:
**http://www.iufro.org/media/iufro-spotlights/
<http://www.iufro.org/media/iufro-spotlights/>*
*Contact the editor at office(at)iufro.org <office(a)iufro.org> or visit
http://www.iufro.org/ <http://www.iufro.org/index.php?id=104>*
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