4 Cowett et al: Tracking Changes to Urban Trees over 100 Years in Ithaca, NY, USA tree managers to understand not just the way things were, but how they will be tomorrow (Rowntree 1998). Accordingly, the inventory should either be continuous, with data updated constantly, or the inven- tory should be repeated at regular intervals, such as every 5 to 10 years (Baker 1993). Many municipali- ties, however, do not reinventory trees on a regular basis or at all, in part due to cost (Bassett and Law- rence 1975; Hauer and Peterson 2016). Additionally, when an inventory is repeated, there are often differ- ences in inventory variables, data collection methods, and personnel, which may limit the ability to make comparisons between the data sets (Crown et al. 2018). The city of Ithaca, New York in the United States possesses 7 inventories of its municipally managed urban trees dating back to 1902, with the most recent inventory conducted in 2019. This paper utilizes the data contained in these inventories to analyze long- term change in the structure of Ithaca’s municipally managed tree population in order to understand not just the way things were, but how they will be tomor- row. Particular emphasis is given to the diversity of tree species and genera as a critical management fac- tor in promoting the health and sustainability of Ithaca street and park trees and preserving the envi- ronmental, social, and economic benefits they provide. METHODS Study Area Ithaca is a city with a population of 30,999 and a land area of 13.96 km2 (United States Census Bureau 2018) situated at the southern end of Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York State in the northeastern part of the United States (42.4406° lat, ˗76.4967° long)(Figure 1). It is located in the Mixed Wood Plains of the Eastern Temperate Forests ecore- gion of North America, which is characterized by mixed coniferous-deciduous forests and a humid continental climate marked by warm summers and cold, snowy winters (CEC 2009). Mean annual pre- cipitation is 947.42 mm (37.30 in)(NRCC 2020), and its USDA Plant Hardiness Zone is Zone 6A (˗23.3 to ˗20.6 °C, ˗10 to ˗5 °F)(USDA 2012). Incorporated as a village in 1821 and chartered as a city in 1888 (Dieckmann 2004), Ithaca was initially known as a manufacturing center thanks to the water-powered mills facilitated by its glacially carved topography and has since become recognized as an educational center with Cornell University, Ithaca College, and Tompkins Cortland Community College located in or near the city (Kammen 2008). It was often called “Forest City” in the nineteenth century because, although vis- ible from the surrounding hills, it was “almost hid by the gold and cardinal-tinted leaves on the tall trees lining its streets” (Kurtz 1883). Trees continue today to line Ithaca’s streets, and its street and park trees are managed by a City Forester who, in coordination with a Shade Tree Advisory Committee comprised of resi- dents and city officials, supervises a Forestry Section within the Public Works Department (Denig 2014). Data Sets Data were collated for 7 tree inventories of munici- pally managed trees in Ithaca, New York, conducted Figure 1. Location of Ithaca, New York, USA. ©2021 International Society of Arboriculture Figure 2. Sample map from the Ithaca tree inventory 1928– 1947. Elms are color coded orange.
January 2021
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