240 of use among all stakeholders. The value of long-term studies was emphasized; such studies are critical to our understand- ing of how trees thrive over their lifetimes in urban settings. During the roundtable discussion, symposium participants had many comments and suggestions for future research on this final topic, including ideas for new partnerships and mod- els. For example, researchers might partner with developers and landscape architects to monitor long-term performance of their projects. The Landscape Architecture Foundation is encour- aging such collaboration through its Case Study Investigation program and Landscape Performance series (www.lafounda- tion.org/research/case-study-investigation). Again, many noted the great need to standardize data collection practices, particu- larly so that nonprofit organizations and community volunteers can take part in this research work. Researchers should estab- lish and maintain partnerships with arborists, and also work to minimize lack of communication, planning, or cooperation be- tween tree growers, landscape designers, and builders/develop- ers—even if that means providing incentives for these different stakeholders. An effective communication network is needed to improve the exchange of information among these parties. Future research priorities were ranked in the following order: 1. 2. 3. 4. Understand how tree management influences ecosystem services. Investigate how different trees/species respond to disturbance, stress, and management treatments. Expand the scope of demographic studies on tree survival, mortality, and removal patterns. Examine best practices for trees that are alive, but show slow growth, or no growth, due to poor soils. 5. Verify the accuracy and evaluate the cost-effectiveness of different site and tree assessment tools. CONNECTING THEMES AND CONCLUSIONS Several themes were repeated throughout the symposium. Many participants agreed that there must be greater collaboration between researchers investigating all aspects of tree growth and longevity. A greater appreciation or understanding of the value of long-term studies must be fostered not only among the research community, but among other stakeholders as well. A clearinghouse for monitoring information should be established for the use of researchers, designers and developers, arborists, nonprofit organizations, and consumers. The database should foster use of standardized terminology and measurements. To strengthen the impact of urban tree growth research on the tree care industry, results and conclusions must be effectively summarized and distributed to a variety of audiences, which might include federal, state, and local governments; property owners and consumers; nurseries and growers; tree care and other green industry professionals; and urban planners, civil engineers, and landscape architects. The Urban Tree Growth and Longevity Working Group has been established toward this end, to support communication between researchers and pro- fessional practitioners, enrich scientific exchange, and enhance the quality, productivity, and timeliness of research on tree growth, longevity, and mortality. The goal of this new group is to implement a coordinated approach to provide tree care pro- ©2012 International Society of Arboriculture Leibowitz: Urban Tree Growth and Longevity fessionals and tree owners with the information they need to make informed decisions that will improve tree performance. Information for the working group may be found online (ur- bantreegrowth.org). Presentations and proceedings of the 2011 research symposium held at The Morton Arboretum may be found online as well (www.masslaboratory.org/urban-tree-growth-- longevity-conference-2011.html). LITERATURE CITED Roman, L.A., and F.N. Scatena. 2011. Street Tree Survival Rates: Meta-analysis of Previous Studies and Application to a Field Sur- vey in Philadelphia, PA, USA. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 10:269–274. Young, R. 2011. Planting the Living City. Journal of the American Planning Association 77(4):368–381. Rachel Leibowitz Science and Research Manager International Society of Arboriculture 2101 W. Park Court Champaign, Illinois 61821, U.S.
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