Proposal for Urban Forest Health Monitoring in the United States

Urban areas cover approximately 3.5% of the total land area of the coterminous United States, contain more than 75% of the U.S. population, and support about 3.8 billion trees. Yet little is known about the status of the forest resource in these areas or how it is changing. This paper details a proposal to create a national urban forest health monitoring program within the USDA Forest Services Forest Health Monitoring Program that would establish an estimated 11,735 permanent urban forest plots nationwide. These plots would be resampled on an annualized 5- or 7-year cycle in the East and on a 10-year cycle in the West. Annual reports would provide current information on urban forest, health, structure, functions, and associated monetary values for each state/region and the nation. The information gathered on urban forest characteristics, particularly rates of change, would provide essential information for managing the urban forest resource and improving forest health in urban areas.

Keywords: Forest Health,Research

Pages: 6

Publisher: SAF Publication 01-02

Category: Urban Forestry

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