Project Overview

S24-051

Project Type: IPM Centers Grant

Funds awarded in 2024: $29,976.00

Grant Recipient: University of Florida

Region: Southern

State: Florida

Cooperating States: Florida, Georgia

Project Coordinator:

Adam Dale

University of Florida

Increasing access to urban tree ecosystem services with IPM

Reports

Commodities

Additional Plants: native plants, ornamentals, trees

Community and Urban Pest Management: residential/housing

Ecosystem: Ecosystem

Target Pests

Target Pests: aphids, other, scale

Practices

Pest Management: cultivation, cultural control, forecasting, habitat modification, prevention

Sustainable Communities: public participation, public policy, quality of life

Proposal abstract:

There has historically been disinvestment in the urban forest of economically distressed regions of cities compared to more economically prosperous areas. This has resulted in unequal canopy cover and access to the benefits trees provide. Recent investment and policies focus on mitigating this neglect with large-scale tree planting initiatives. However, due to the historical under-investment, new trees planted in economically distressed areas likely encounter conditions that predispose them to pest attack and reduced ecosystem service potential. Given that neighborhoods of reduced economic well-being are unlikely to invest more resources into their trees via pest management, pest outbreaks go unmanaged and trees decline. Thus, without proper planning and evidence-based guidelines, re-greening initiatives may fail to generate positive returns on investment and even perpetuate poor green infrastructure in historically neglected neighborhoods. A keystone of IPM is proper cultural management to set plants up for success with reduced inputs. In urban forests, this often means intentional and strategic plant selection and landscape design. In partnership with the City of Atlanta and a local NGO, we will conduct a series of evaluations to quantify insect pests and ecosystem services on trees installed over the past ten years in neighborhoods spanning a wide range of socioeconomic status.

Our overarching goals are to 1) quantify pest density and distribution on the five most commonly planted pest-susceptible urban tree species installed in the past ten years across metropolitan Atlanta; 2) determine if pest density and impacts vary by tree species and the local area’s level of economic distress; 3) quantify ecosystem service provisioning and potential for the most common urban tree species planted over the past ten years; and 4) generate educational resources and opportunities for practitioners and the public that help direct more successful and long-lived urban tree planting initiatives while ensuring equal exposure and access to neighborhood residents spanning economic distress levels.

This project directly aligns with the National Roadmap for IPM by seeking to minimize adverse environmental effects from pests and related management practices where most people live, work, learn, and recreate. By identifying interactions between legacies of urban investment, modern tree planting initiatives, and pest and tree management needs, we will have the necessary data to quantify and track the economic and social outcomes of urban tree planting initiatives.

Project objectives from proposal:

Our overarching objectives are to 1) quantify pest density and distribution on the five most commonly planted pest-susceptible urban tree species installed in the past ten years across metropolitan Atlanta; 2) determine if pest density and impacts vary by tree species and the local area’s level of economic distress; 3) quantify ecosystem service provisioning and potential for the most common urban tree species planted over the past ten years; and 4) generate educational resources and opportunities for practitioners and the public that help direct more successful and long-lived urban tree planting initiatives while ensuring equal exposure and access to neighborhood residents spanning economic distress levels.

Planned Outputs	Anticipated Outcomes	Problem or Priority Targeted
1. Develop new evidence-based cultural IPM recommendations for new urban tree plantings and newly planted trees that minimize tree pests and maximize tree health.	- Increased access to healthy urban trees by urban residents from all levels of economic well-being. - Reduced pesticide exposure risk to beneficial insects and urban residents by reducing the severity and frequency of high-density urban tree pest infestations. - A framework to develop more comprehensive future research proposals with broader scope more comprehensive applications. - Identify key barriers and opportunities to increasing urban forest health and equitable access to healthy urban trees. - Long-term – increased longevity of urban trees and increased human physical and mental health, particularly in regions of lower economic well-being. - Increased return on investment for municipalities and other industry organizations that are investing in tree planting efforts.	- Key sap-feeding insect pests like aphids and scale insects frequently reach damaging densities on urban trees, triggered by local landscape characteristics - Urban tree cover is lower in more economically distressed regions of cities due to historical disinvestment in these regions, which creates environmental conditions that likely predispose trees to reduced health. - Preliminary observations suggest that recently planted urban trees are subjected to higher pest pressure than more mature trees, which may result in reduced tree survival in areas more prone to pest outbreaks. - Current industry standard urban forest planning, installation, and management practices do not account for effects of highly localized socio-economic and landscape factors. - Municipalities across the US and world are making large investments in urban tree planting initiatives, but their return on that investment is unclear and uncertain.

2. Increased understanding of public perceptions and priorities, along with professional perceptions and priorities, related to urban forest design, installation, and management.	- Increased communication between industry professionals and the public. - Increased alignment of industry practices and IPM solutions with resident values. - Improved economic outcomes for municipalities due to increased tree survival and reduced post-planting maintenance.	- Values and knowledge are often misaligned between the public, researchers, and green industry practitioners. - Residents of highly economically distressed neighborhoods often place less value on healthy urban trees, or perceive new investment in urban greening as not beneficial to their long-term economic, mental, and physical well-being.

3. Write one scientific publication disseminating results of study.	Increased knowledge of the role of economic well-being and historical urban investment in determining pest management needs and urban tree outcomes among researchers and academic professionals.	There is currently a poor understanding of the role of economic well-being and historical urban investment in green infrastructure in determining insect pest severity and urban forest outcomes.

4. Write one extension publication aimed at green industry professionals disseminating the IPM strategies developed as a result of the study. Will include specific results and recommendations based on our pest surveys across tree species and neighborhoods.	Increased knowledge of the role of economic well-being and historical urban investment in determining pest management needs and urban tree outcomes among urban foresters, county extension agents, the public, and pest management professionals.	- Industry stakeholders currently lack data-driven IPM strategies to extend the longevity of newly planted urban trees. - Industry stakeholders currently lack to evidence and tactics to increase public access to the benefits of healthy urban trees.

5. Present research objectives and findings at the International Society of Arboriculture meeting in Atlanta, GA to researchers and practitioners.	- Increased knowledge of the role of economic well-being and historical urban investment in determining pest management needs and urban tree outcomes among urban foresters, county extension agents, the public, and pest management professionals. - Generation of research and extension collaborations, and development of more diverse, integrated, and relevant research, extension, and pest management ideas.	Current lack of communication of recent research and extension efforts associated with urban tree IPM among university and industry professionals

6. Organize and host multiple outreach and Extension workshops for industry professionals and the public (two events within neighborhoods that represent each of the five economic well-being index ratings)	Increased knowledge and awareness of the value of urban trees, tree health, and more evidence-based urban forest planning and management practices by urban residents and urban forest practitioners.	- Current lack of interaction between urban forest professionals and the public. - Current lack of understanding of shared or misaligned values between urban residents and urban forestry professionals.