Conservation / Tree Health

WASHINGTON, September 14, 2023 -

by ETH Zurich

For centuries, human activity has intentionally or unintentionally driven the spread of plant species to areas far outside their native habitat. On average, about 10% of non-native species worldwide become invasive, often causing large ecological and economic consequences for affected regions.

by Dhanapal Govindarajulu

Allowing forests to regenerate on their own has been championed as a strategy for reducing planet-heating carbon in the atmosphere while also boosting biodiversity, the benefits ecosystems offer and even the fruitfulness of livelihoods.

In an effort to slash carbon emissions and provide relief from extreme heat, governments across the nation and globally have pledged to plant trees. But the US is not equipped with the tree seedlings to furnish its own plans, according to a new study.

US tree nurseries do not grow nearly enough trees to bring ambitious planting schemes to fruition, and they also lack the plant species diversity those plans require, according to research published in the journal Bioscience on Monday,

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service has published a report that provides a snapshot of current U.S. forest and rangeland conditions and projects conditions 50 years into the future. The Resources Planning Act Assessment report uses a mixture of scientific, climate and economic projections to identify drivers of change, resources and trends across all land ownerships, as well as summarize probable outcomes for nature-based economies.

by Andrea Wild, CSIRO

When the unusual branches of a tall tree were first noticed in a canyon northwest of Sydney in 1994, it sparked great excitement in the botanical world. The tree was new to science. It had very few living relatives and a lineage dating back millions of years to the Cretaceous period.

by Brenda Dawson

The cooling shade of UC Davis’ mature, leafy trees impressed Nurjannah Wiryadimejo enough to help the now-graduating senior choose to become an Aggie. “When I first came to Davis, what struck me was how beautiful the cork oaks are. I’d never seen such beautiful tree-lined streets like the ones by the Memorial Union,” she said. “But now I’ve realized that a lot of the trees on campus aren’t well suited for the future climate, when there will be more heat and extreme weather events,” said the environmental science and management major.

Tourists marvel at two iconic trees (Shorea leprosula Miq. and Ficus albipila (Miq.) King), known as the 'couple tree', in Kebun Raya, Bogor, Indonesia. Trees sustain life on this planet and enrich our lives in multiple ways. However, we are losing tree diversity at an alarming rate. Cannon et al’s article “The Global Tree Assessment provides a multifaceted view on the future of tree diversity conservation” highlights the work of the Global Tree Assessment through the lens of 13 articles that make up this special issue.

A major surge in climate resilience funding is allowing urban forestry departments to focus on trees. About $1.5 billion of funding will be invested in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry Program.

Driving along the Rock River, Mitch Leatherbie, a street superintendent for the city of Rockford, Illinois, spots a pair of trees he considers survivors.“There's two ash trees, right, they're still standing,” said Leatherbie. “... Those were just a couple of them that we kept.”

By Eric Ralls

A decade-long investigation suggests that the diversity of tree species planted in forests can significantly contribute to their survival, according to the latest findings from the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) and The Nature Conservancy.