Arboriculture & Urban Forestry 35(2): March 2009 91 Table 3. The responses to the open question “Do you have any suggestions to give your administrators concerning the ma- nagement of public greenery?” Key to answers: 1: improve maintenance and care; 2: no suggestion/no response; 3: proper selection of plants 4: others (include more cleaning and surveillance, better design and planning, more flower plants, control of dogs and problematic birds, pollution control, reclamation of abandoned areas, more spaces for children and pedestrian precincts). For details of levels of variables, see Table 1. All χ2 tests are significant for P < 0.01. Answers, % Variables & levels Men Gender Age Education Women Avg. % 15-19 20-30 31-50 50+ Avg. % Junior High Degree Avg. % Occupation Housew. Retired Student Profess. Manual Other Avg. % 1 55.1 35.7 46.0 29.9 48.1 43.5 55.8 46.0 19.0 47.5 51.5 46.0 45.8 45.7 27.6 57.6 60.9 52.6 46.0 2 36.7 49.8 42.9 58.5 37.4 43.1 39.4 42.9 55.7 41.9 41.2 42.9 49.0 45.7 55.3 26.4 27.3 15.8 42.9 and students (55.3%) were the most represented demographic levels in this group. One respondent out of 20 is interested in a better selection of ornamental plants, with special regard to a larger diffusion of autochthonous flora and of flower plants. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Plants of urban parks and boulevards offer a pleasant living en- vironment and recreation opportunities, improving people’s mental and physical health. It seems almost superfluous to point out the many and important functions performed by plants in a city; from their ecological functions, such as improving the mi- cro- and meso-climatic conditions, capturing air pollutants, and creating noise and visual barriers, to their positive psychological benefits to the citizens, as well as their aesthetic and historical value (Platt et al. 1994; Avissar 1996; Mage et al. 1996; Attore et al. 2000). Henwood and Pidgeon (2001) showed the importance, significance, and value to people of woods and, in particular, of trees, making special reference to the symbolic space they oc- cupy in people’s local community and cultural environments. However, sometimes they involve external costs, consisting in damage to property, caused by extensive root systems, or injuries to people caused by falling branches from windfall. In fact, the peculiar characteristics of the city environment place trees in a difficult and precarious condition: buildings tend to concentrate solar radiation so as to hinder normal leaf transpiration; asphalt rapidly conveys rain into the sewers, reducing the rate of regener- ation of the soil water resources; and air contains great quantities of pollutants which often reach concentrations harmful to plants (Kjelgren and Montague 1998). To all this, the direct consequenc- es of man’s action must be added; damage caused by cars during parking maneuvers, by road construction around the trees, and by acts of vandalism. Overall attitudes of residents to street trees may be not entirely positive (Hitcmough and Bonugli 1997). Sev- eral pathogens (e.g., fungi) induce severe decline and occasion- 3 5.0 5.2 5.1 7.5 3.8 7.2 2.8 5.1 15.2 3.9 5.2 5.1 2.0 3.3 6.1 9.7 7.3 15.8 5.1 4 3.2 9.3 6.0 4.1 10.7 6.2 2.0 6.0 10.1 6.7 2.1 6.0 3.2 5.3 11.0 6.3 4.5 15.8 6.0 Σ % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 χ2 9.2 24.9 46.2 102.0 ally kill trees; this increases these risks, and proper management strategies are required to assess tree hazard (Lonsdale 2001). Appleton (1975) proposed that trees occupy a special sig- nificance aesthetically because they provide a handy way for an individual to gain a more satisfying view of the surroundings; for this reason the main goal of this study was to show how the presence of a dead evergreen tree in an urban environment is per- ceived by citizens. Our respondents reported little difficulty in identifying the (obvious) differences between the dead tree and other conspecific normal individuals, and 86.2% were aware of the risks connected with the collapse of unhealthy trees. Dif- ferences amongst genders, age groups, educational levels, and occupation were observed concerning the supposed cause of the death (actually due to a fungal rot disease). Environmental pollution was indicated as the culprit mainly by young people. There is plenty of evidence of general public concern with re- gard to air quality issues, and this is likely to be the environmen- tal issue of most concern in the future (Beaumont et al. 1999). Finally, and surprisingly, 42.9% of our respondents were unable (or unavailable) to give suggestions to administrators and policy- makers concerning the management of public greenery; this was particularly true for young people and students. Based on these results, it is felt that more attention should be paid at all levels of education to increase the awareness of the importance of the role of greenspaces in improving the quality of life in urban environments. LITERATURE CITED Abello, R.P. and F.G. Bernaldez. 1986. Landscape preference and per- sonality. Landscape Urban Planning 13: 19–28. Agrios, G.N. 2005. Plant Pathology (5th ed.), Elsevier, Academic Press, New York. Anselmi, N. and G. Govi. 1996. Patologia del legno, Edagricole, Bologna. Appleton, J. 1975. The experience of Landscape. London: John Wiley and Sons, Ltd. ©2009 International Society of Arboriculture
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