Arboriculture & Urban Forestry 40(2): March 2014 et al.’s (1994) analysis of individual-level satisfaction and engagement in tree planting. Elmendorf (2008) cites an extensive literature from urban planning and community development research, outlining the theoretical linkages between trees, tree plant- ing, and community capacity and development; yet, to the knowledge of the authors, no research has empirically analyzed the effects of tree-planting programs on neighborhood collective action. How- ever, the existing literature indicates reason to sus- pect that participation in collective tree-planting and management activities may have positive effects on other types of collective engagement. Conse- quently, the authors expect neighborhoods that engage in collective tree-planting and manage- ment activities will build social capital (or social networks and the reinforcing norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness that arise from them) and are thus likely to engage in additional collective efforts. Ultimately, collective action, co-production, institutions, and social capital in neighborhood- initiated tree plantings should theoretically lead to more consistent and frequent efforts to maintain (water) trees. Long-term water stress can decrease both root and shoot growth rates (Kozlowski and Pallardy 1997), and because tree establishment depends on root growth (Nilsson et al. 2008), trees facing sufficient constraints to establishment through lack of water will not survive or grow in the landscape (Appleyard 2000). Thus, growth and/ or survival are potentially impacted by irrigation practices in urban settings. Because of the known importance of watering to planted tree survival and growth (e.g., Whitlow et al. 1992; Kozlowski and Pallardy 1997; Appleyard 2000; Gilman 2004), the authors expect any neighborhood activities that lead to frequent and consistent watering throughout the first few seasons aſter planting to be related to higher tree survival, condition, and/or growth rates. METHODS Study Site To examine if tree survival, condition, or growth varies between tree-watering strategies and to what extent a strategy may influence neighborhood col- lective action, researchers partnered with KIB to study a sample of neighborhoods throughout Indianapolis and Marion County, Indiana, that have 87 participated in the organization’s NeighborWoods program. Founded in 1976, KIB is a 501c(3), private, not-for-profit organization, and an award-winning affiliate of ACTrees. KIB’s NeighborWoods pro- gram, begun in 2006 as part of the larger ACTrees NeighborWoods initiative, is an urban forestry effort to strategically plant 100,000 trees throughout the City of Indianapolis and Marion County (under a single metropolitan government unit). Indianap- olis is the state capital, with a growing population of just over 800,000 (U.S. Census 2010). The total area of the consolidated metropolis is approximately 966 km2 and is located in a flat, glaciated plain. KIB NeighborWoods requires submission of an application demonstrating a group’s self-organized plan to aid in the planting and establishment of ~2.5–5 cm caliper trees through a structured water- ing strategy of the neighborhood’s choosing. Strate- gies generally fall along a continuum from “collective watering,” in which neighbors gather at a specified time to water all trees, to “individual watering,” in which individual neighbors are responsible for one or more trees (usually near their home) and water them individually at any time. Regardless of the spe- cific type of watering strategy chosen, neighborhoods are instructed to give each planted tree at least 56.8 L of water every week during the summer (April– October) during which it does not rain at least 2.5 cm. The study authors selected a stratified sample of neighborhoods and homeowners associations (subsequently referred to as “neighborhoods”) throughout Indianapolis that participated in KIB’s NeighborWoods program between 2006 and 2009, based on a KIB list of projects by watering strategy. Watering strategies were dichotomized and project selection was based on balancing the sample between the two types: 1) neighborhoods where there was some form of collective watering, and 2) neighborhoods in which only individual watering was conducted. Thirty-six projects in 25 distinct neighborhoods were identified and selected in which a minimum of ~20 trees were planted, and for purposes of access, where trees were planted in or near the public right-of-way or in common areas. Social Data Collection Upon project selection, KIB employees provided contact information for at least one individual from each neighborhood who was involved in help- ©2014 International Society of Arboriculture
March 2014
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