Tree inventories have evolved from pen and paper to GIS-based and beyond. Today we are able to confidently and cost-effectively conduct street tree inventories using machine learning and Google Street view. This presentation will demonstrate which applications are right for machine learning, and we will share recent case study results from California where we mapped 400,000 trees in three weeks with 95% accuracy. Leveraging machine learning street tree inventories can unlock huge potential for proactive maintenance with real-time data.

Urban trees mitigate heat, clean air and water, and provide residents with an improvement in general well-being. However, trees are threatened by climate change, disease, invasive species, and land-use change. The ability to inventory public and private trees using remote sensing can provide urban forest managers with a faster, cheaper, and more efficient way to inventory trees -- including tree species identification and health assessment -- to help ease the burden of managing local tree stock.

In this study, we investigated the influence of management context on the transpiration of red maple, sweetgum, and tulip poplar species as well as the relationship between environmental drivers (soil moisture and vapor pressure deficit) and tree transpiration. We found significantly lower sap flux density in closed-canopy trees, compared to solitary trees. Species differences in sap flux density were observed at the daily time-scale, with tulip poplar being the most sensitive to drought.

How do you decide where to put a tree? If equity is one of your goals you need to know more than just where there is a sidewalk cut-out. This presentation will highlight the data that you can get through i-Tree to support greater equity in the distribution of trees and tree canopy. Case studies will be shared capturing how i-Tree can help cities identify the need for more trees, help guide planting campaigns, and provide data to fill in gaps in our understanding of what tree equity means.

In June of 2021, the Pacific Northwest saw a once-in-a-millennium climate event that cost 96 lives during record-high temperatures. Mapping and overlay with tree canopy present a very clear picture: those that died were primarily in areas of low tree canopy cover. Friends of Trees and Portland State University embarked on a series of discussions with a community advisory board about the ways in which green projects can address pressing needs and the types of projects that can better prepare communities for future climate-induced events.

Urban forest managers must do their best to ensure the species we recommend for planting today can live long, healthy lives, even as the climate changes. This presentation will discuss how the City of Fremont, CA, prioritized climate resilience, tree equity, and tree diversity by completing a "sister climate city" analysis, which uses forecasted temperatures, precipitation, weather, and other variables to match modeled conditions of the client city 60-70 years in the future with a sister city's conditions today.

Sooty bark disease is an emerging concern in the Pacific Northwest. Research has indicated the causal fungus -- Cryptostroma corticale -- has been present in the region since the late 60s, but the impacts of the disease have only been observed recently. International research has noted outbreaks following droughts, and its emergence in the Northwest is likely linked to the recent longer and hotter summer conditions. More research is urgently needed to understand how this disease will affect our cities and communities as the climate changes.

The summer of 2021 was the hottest on record in the U.S. Cities are documented to be 2–10 degrees (F) warmer compared to rural areas, and extreme heat is now the leading cause of weather-related deaths in the U.S. Trees and forests can mitigate urban heat, however not all types of urban forests provide the same cooling benefits. We will show which types of urban trees provide the greatest cooling benefits across multiple U.S. cities. and how you can measure these differences in your own city.

Urban forestry is a historically male-dominated field, with women making up a small but growing portion of the workforce. In the past few decades, there has been an increase in women holding leadership positions in the field. Although it is important to assess the constraints that women face as they pursue a career in urban forestry, it is also necessary to look at the catalysts that have propelled them forward. These catalysts include mentorship, conferences, continued professional education, and sponsorship and networking.

The path of women in the tree business features what once was seen as an insurmountable barrier: climbing. Tree climbers are at the core of the industry; not everyone starts up in the trees, but many entry-level jobs still take you there. It's the purest form of tree work, but women still constitute a minority in American arboriculture. My presentation will explore the history of women's participation, describe where we stand currently, and look ahead to the future.

American Forests has developed a pre-employment curriculum that urban forestry practitioners have embraced as a key resource for building professional job training programs, integrating both soft skills and arboriculture skills to diversify our field. This session will provide an overview of the curriculum itself and will describe how practitioners are implementing it, including lessons learned.

Since August 2020, Rebecca Johnson has been hosting monthly "Women in Trees" chats via Zoom. These chats are a combination of networking, coaching, community building, and resource sharing. The space created allows participants to discuss challenges and receive peer-to-peer solutions. This presentation will review the most common topics discussed and resources provided at the conclusion of each meeting. It also includes lessons learned in hosting an open chat, creating a safe space, and helping to set the stage for a successful chat.

Today, one of the most urgent questions in horticulture is, "What tree planting strategies are best for the rapid climate change we are experiencing?" Climate conditions and organisms are moving from the equator toward the poles with the overall warming of the climate. The "look south" search model for finding future-adapted tree species is gaining acceptance, along with an awareness of the importance of geographical range. The application of these searches to California is detailed, from identification to testing to nursery introduction.

Hurricanes cause substantial damage to coastal and island communities, infrastructure, and the urban forest. We created a classification system to group over 500 tree species into low, medium, and high wind resistance groups based on an extensive literature review. Communities can use this system to incorporate wind resistance into their species selection and identify existing trees in their inventory with low wind resistance. This knowledge can be used to create urban forest management plans that proactively address hurricane-related risks.

Because, Madrone. The Arbutus ARME (binomial abbreviation for Pacific madrone) celebrates all things Pacific madrone, highlighting conservation and restoration efforts while connecting tree researchers and enthusiasts along the way. This initiative originated as a partnership between the Washington State University Ornamental Plant Pathology Program and Seattle Parks and Recreation's Green Seattle Partnership. We are slowly growing this thing across the Pacific madrone's entire range, along the jagged edge of Turtle Island.

Our study focuses on testing selected tree species for urban settings that we judge to have potential to adapt to future climate change factors such as drought, heat, pests, and extreme weather events but are not yet in wide use across urban areas of California. This study, started in 2015, is expected to continue over 20 years, and will contribute to the knowledge needed to shift urban forest planting palettes to species that will be more resilient to these climate stressors.

It's a gift that not every municipality receives from their council -- a lump sum of $1.5 million -- and it's a challenge to figure out how to spend it in a responsible and equitable manner over a fairly short period of time. The allocation of $1.5M represents almost 20% of our Division's annual budget, which is an enormous influx of funds, and we have approximately 3 years to spend it. The City of Lexington has gathered a committee of tree experts and community advocates to determine the best path forward with the hope of addressing tree equity.

We present a novel strategy to build connections between trees and people in urban environments: climb them. Guided public tree climbs connect people with a vital resource, building appreciation for trees as living things with innate value and beauty. The use of ropes, harnesses, helmets, and other equipment protects climbers and trees from harm and allow the climber to disconnect from the artificial world and connect deeply with the natural one and with oneself.

How a tree is planted and cared for during the establishment phase will be a prime indicator of how the tree survives and thrives long term. Many tree planting specifications have not been updated to follow the current best management practices, and as a result, trees are not being set up for long-term health and success.

What happens when an Urban Forest Grant program generates more mitigation money than it can spend? Believe it or not, this is a harder problem to solve than you may think. City of Austin forestry staff have been in the highly unusual predicament of managing a multi-million-dollar fund that has strictly defined granting parameters. This session will discuss the building and evolution of the successful and creative Urban Forest Grant program over the last 13 years.

SpoCanopy is a project between The Lands Council and the City of Spokane Urban Forestry, to help achieve the city's goal of increasing urban canopy cover to 40% by 2030. Our focus is to plant in neighborhoods that have been historically disenfranchised, following the correlation between lower median income and low canopy cover. In North East Spokane the average canopy cover is about 13%, where Spokane's average canopy cover is about 20%, in some neighborhoods reaching over 40%. Through SpoCanopy, we hope to give the benefits of trees to all.

Housing demolition for blight reduction is leading to tree canopy loss in Syracuse's redlined neighborhoods. The City is now leveraging its growing vacant land inventory to actively integrate urban forest equity into new housing construction and neighborhood revitalization. We'll highlight pilot projects in the Southwest neighborhood and discuss how a vacant lands strategy can reduce heat islands near vulnerable populations and be deployed in once-in-a-generation infrastructure projects that will begin in a few years.

In cities across the continental U.S., we see that urban trees and the benefits they afford are not distributed equitably. However in Hawaii, trends for tree planting and existing canopy are not always easily explained by race and income. We explore tools to assess tree equity from a Hawaii perspective to explain urban tree canopy distribution. We also suggest unique elements to consider beyond canopy coverage to understand tree equity. This has implications for places with high biocultural diversity and a strong indigenous community presence.

This presentation will discuss how Openlands identified our priority planting areas, discuss techniques used when engaging the communities that live there, and offer tips for building and sustaining partner coalitions to accomplish common goals.