Urban forests provide critical ecosystem services to cities: including moderating the climate and pollution, reducing building energy use, improving air and water quality, enhancing overall human health and social well-being. Urban forest tree cover is declining at an alarming rate, threatening the health and livelihoods of city dwellers. Recent losses in city tree cover comprise a critical environmental concern, as over half the world's population resides in cities. Many cities have pre-existing forests, but urban forest maturation, invasive pathogens, focused maintenance needs, and limited nursery stock threaten the integrity of these ecosystems and the services they provide to humanity, especially within the New England region. Tree restoration is critical for the future health and sustainability of both cities and city dwellers, and local tree-planting initiatives have the potential to provide an alternative way to bolster the capacity of communities to maintain healthy urban forests. To understand the relationship between urban forest health and urban tree nurseries, I conducted 11 virtual semi-structured interviews with New England small-scale nursery leaders to investigate nursery location, their operations, and what motivates individuals to work within these spaces. My results revealed that small urban tree-growing initiatives are popping up principally in schools and municipalities to assess the need for native tree species and to reduce the cost of acquiring them from wholesale nurseries. Forms of management include the use of bare-root stock, seedlings, propagation, and balled and burlapped trees. Management efforts rely heavily on their level of funding and the ability to maintain a dedicated staff. Despite the difficulties of starting and maintaining these initiatives, my study suggests urban tree nurseries can efficiently re-forest local communities with cheaper and specialized tree stock that is adapted to local environmental growing conditions compared to large commercial tree growing operations. Knowledge of efficient alternatives to restoring urban forest health and ways to meet reafforestation demands is crucial for sustainable urban forest planning and management across New England's cities.
"},{"label":"Degree","value":["Bachelor of Arts with Departmental Honors"]},{"label":"Author-supplied Keywords","value":["Nursery","Trees","Reafforestation"]},{"label":"Administrative Note","value":"Drupal Node ID: 33862