Arboriculture & Urban Forestry 34(1): January 2008 Arboriculture & Urban Forestry 2008. 34(1):47–53. 47 Attitudes of Residents Toward Street Trees on Four Streets in Toledo, Ohio, U.S. Before Removal of Ash Trees (Fraxinus spp.) from Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis) Joseph Heimlich, T. Davis Sydnor, Matthew Bumgardner, and Patrick O’Brien Abstract. Toledo, Ohio, U.S. residents on four streets in an area with mature street trees, including ash, scheduled for removal as a result of attack by emerald ash borer were surveyed to determine their attitudes toward their street trees. Toledo is in the process of removing some 5,000 trees. Large trees with a variety of summer and fall foliar characteristics were highly valued suggesting that residents would be satisfied with a mix of species rather than planting each street to a single species. The fact that their trees canopied the street was also important to residents and is characteristic of larger urban trees. Residents would be pleased if replacements were planted before removing existing trees. Flowers were not a significant concern for residents. In Toledo, as it is in many communities, the primary maintenance concern regarding trees in this survey is the potential damage to sidewalks. Key Words. Agrilus; ash replacements; community safety; emerald ash borer; Fraxinus spp.; green ash; resident attitudes; street trees. Emerald ash borer (EAB) is a recently introduced exotic pest from Eastern Asia (Akiyama and Ohmomo 2000; Poland and McCullough 2006). The insect was first described in the Detroit, Michigan, U.S. area in 2002 (United States Department of Ag- riculture, Animal Plant Health Inspection Service 2003; Cap- paert et al. 2005). Currently, these pests are found in Michigan, northwestern Ohio, and northeastern Indiana (Herms et al. 2004). These pests are in the order Buprestidae and are known as bu- prestids or metallic wood-boring beetles. Emerald ash borer outlier populations have spread more rap- idly than at first predicted (Cappaert et al. 2005; Iverson et al. 2006). Because the EAB is an exotic insect, there is no evolu- tionary history for this pest with the native North American ashes and thus the insect is very likely to kill its host. The latent period when the plants are asymptomatic has only recently been studied (Cappaert et al. 2005). Although plants decline and die rapidly on becoming symptomatic, failure to account for the latent period results in the appearance that the insect takes longer to kill its host than originally thought. This is a problem because early infestations are difficult to diagnose and several life cycles can be completed before a landowner might be expected to iden- tify the threat. Currently, all of Toledo’s approximately 5,000 ash street trees are scheduled for removal. This task began in June 2006. Statewide, the total losses for removal and replace- ment could range from $1.8 to $7.8 billion in Ohio communities alone (Sydnor et al. 2007). Researchers visited an area in Toledo, Ohio, in early June 2006 where trees were scheduled for removal approximately 1 month later as a result of an EAB infestation. A number of residents came out to check and see what was happening in their neighborhood. Several residents offered suggestions. One resi- dent reminded us that the ash trees to be removed had been planted in response to the removal of elm trees in the 1950s. His question was “Don’t we ever learn?” It is interesting that Cheng and McBride (2006) noted that after the World War II devasta- tion in Hiroshima and Tokyo, there was a tendency by the public to initially recreate what had been and to reject urban planning. It was clear that residents of Toledo had something to say. The city in turn wanted the residents to feel that their wishes were being heard and that the city was responsive. The survey was considered a good way to gain citizen input as has been dem- onstrated in other cities such as Sacramento (Sommer et al. 1989). BACKGROUND A number of studies have been conducted to assess resident attitudes over the years in nearby states and provinces. Cultural backgrounds have been shown to result in differing attitudes toward trees (Fraser and Kenney 2000; Johnston and Shimada 2004; Schroeder et al. 2006). Schroeder et al. noted that Chinese, Portuguese, Italian, and U.K. residents had differing attitudes toward shade trees but preferred fewer or smaller trees. Hitch- mough and Bonugli (1997) noted that Scottish residents also preferred smaller trees and further noted that females had stron- ger preferences for reduced plantings or smaller trees. This is in contrast with surveys of U.S. residents (Kalmbach and Kielbaso 1979; Schroeder and Cannon 1983; Sommer et al. 1989; Schroeder, and Ruffolo 1996; Schroeder et al. 2006) where larger trees were preferred. Schroeder and Ruffolo (1996) noted that the single largest factor in determining the attractiveness of street scenes was the size of trees and that streets were especially attractive when larger trees canopied the street. In one study, virtually no one rated their trees as too small when asked whether their trees were too small or too large (Schroeder and Ruffolo 1996). This was true even when the individual had expressed a preference for smaller trees. Interestingly, the preference for larger trees in an aesthetic sense is in keeping with studies maximizing ecological benefits of trees. Large trees delivered more benefits to include increased or improved shading, water quality, and air quality (McPherson 2005). Similarly, social benefits accrue to larger trees and grass in inner cities (Kuo 2001). ©2008 International Society of Arboriculture
January 2008
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