264 Rahman et al.: Effect of Pit Design and Soil Composistion on Performance of Street Trees unrestricted rooting zones can extend as much as three times the dripline distance from the trunk (Gilman 1988). But imper- vious pavements are not equally deleterious to all species when grown in urban conditions, and researchers, such as Quigley (2004), have shown that early successional species, such as P. calleryana in the current study, might maintain a simi- lar rate of growth rate after a longer period of establishment compared to the late-successional species. Future tree size in relation to available soil volume in the establishment stage is another consideration. Researchers such as Buhler et al. (2007) showed that trees planted in bigger sized pits (>12 m2 ) proved to be the best in terms of growth and vitality 15 years after planting in Copenhagen, Denmark, compared to trees planted in smaller sized pits with or without structural soil. In conclusion, in this study, trees grown in open pits per- formed better in many ways than trees grown in large covered and especially compared to those grown in small covered pits. They grew faster, developed a wider crown with more leaf lay- ers, had better stress tolerance, and showed better leaf physi- ological performance. As a result, they provided around dou- ble the amount of evapotranspirational cooling compared to trees planted in small covered pits and 1.5 times than those in large covered pits. However, the experimental site was in an uncrowded university-owned street, so there was not enough foot traffic to cause soil compaction in the open pits. The ex- tra layer of composting mulch might also have helped the trees grown in open pits in their establishment period. If no compac- tion reduction measure is taken in case of open pits in busy streets, they might start losing their benefit of good soil aera- tion and reduce their growth and physiological performance. Therefore, large covered pits and other comparable methods might have an advantage in the long term if incorporated with techniques to increase soil aeration, such as sealing the surface with crisscrossed iron structures. The study authors’ previous experiment showed better tree growth and physiological activi- ties for P. calleryana trees grown in open cutout pits planted with sand-based soil (Rahman et al. 2011). Therefore, it might be a good idea to incorporate structural soil with an open sur- face or sealed with perforated structures for better growth and cooling performance of street trees. Finally, it would be worthwhile to monitor the effect on root growth and also the effect of ongoing climate change on different establishment methods in order to successfully manage urban ecosystems. Acknowledgments. This project was supported by a doctoral grant funded by the Sustainable Consumption Institute (SCI), University of Manchester and the European Union INTERREG IVB fund as part of the VALUE project. Thanks are due to Mr. Keith Sacre of Barcham Trees, Mr. Andrew Hirons of Myerscough College, Mr. Griff Evans of Ombler Iwanowski Architects, Red Rose Forest and Dr. Giles Johnson of the University of Manchester for their cordial help during the experiment. Special thanks to Dr. David Armson, Dr. James Gardiner, and Mrs. Sonia Akter for all their help. LITERATURE CITED Ansley, R.J., W.A. Dugas, M.L. Heuer, and B.A. Trevino. 1994. Stem flow and porometer measurements of transpiration from honey mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa). Journal of Experimental Botany 45(275):847–856. Armson D., M.A. Rahman, and A.R. Ennos. 2013. A comparison of the shading effectiveness of five different urban tree species. Arboricul- ture & Urban Forestry 39(4):157–164. Armson, D., P. Stringer, and A.R. Ennos. 2012. 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Impact of modem forest vehicles on soil physical properties. Forest Ecology and Man- agement 248:56–63. ©2013 International Society of Arboriculture
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