150 Moser-Reischl et al: Urban Tree Growth Characteristics in South Germany Arboriculture & Urban Forestry 2021. 47(4):150–169 https://doi.org/10.48044/jauf.2021.015 URBAN FORESTRY ARBORICULTURE Scientific Journal of the International Society of Arboriculture & Urban Tree Growth Characteristics of Four Common Species in South Germany By Astrid Moser-Reischl, Thomas Rötzer, Stephan Pauleit, and Hans Pretzsch Abstract. Urban trees are important, green features of cities. However, knowledge of the size development of frequently planted tree species, which is the basis for modeling environmental benefits of urban trees, is mostly limited. Within this study, allometric relationships for tree struc- tures like tree height, crown parameters, and leaf area were developed for 4 common urban tree species in South Germany (horse chestnut [Aes- culus hippocastanum], small-leaved lime [Tilia cordata], black locust [Robinia pseudoacacia], and plane tree [Platanus × hispanica]). Growth and size differences between different tree species, cities, and planting sites (street, park, square) were analyzed. Moreover, the above- and belowground growing conditions were compared and their influences on growth analyzed. Marked differences in the structural development between species were found, mostly due to their species characteristics. Fast growing species (e.g., R. pseudoacacia) also showed fastest devel- opment of the tree structures compared to other species. Differences between cities were minor, especially for trees younger than 100 years, whereas the variation of growing conditions within cities strongly influenced their growth. Park trees mostly had greater tree structures com- pared to trees at other growing sites, though this was also species-dependent. Above- and belowground conditions varied between species, cit- ies, and sites (street, park, square), with obstacles (trees, buildings) south of the trees having a negative influence on crown growth. These patterns can be helpful for better planning of green features in cities. They provide a basis for urban tree management based on the growing space requirements of tree species and their ecosystem service provision. Keywords. Aesculus; Growing Space Requirement; Platanus; Robinia; Tilia; Tree Growth Dynamics; Urban Tree Allometry. INTRODUCTION The city landscape is a very unique growing environ- ment for urban trees, diverging drastically from forest stands (Grabosky and Bassuk 1995; Bühler et al. 2006). Compared to typical forest trees, urban trees grow mostly in small planting pits with highly compacted and sealed soils (Day et al. 1995; Bühler et al. 2006). These planting pits are often characterized by reduced water supply, less oxygen input, poor soil qualities, and less mycorrhiza, as well as an overall small root- ing space for trees (Morgenroth and Buchan 2009; Rahman et al. 2013). Besides a reduced belowground growing environment, the aboveground space can also be limited by power supply lines, close buildings, or pruning measures due to traffic security. Other influences affecting urban tree growth and vitality are inputs of dog urine, de-icing salts in winter, higher nitrogen and pollution loads, as well as a higher occur- rence of pests and diseases (Whitlow and Bassuk 1986; Petersen and Eckstein 1988; Cekstere et al. 2008). ©2021 International Society of Arboriculture In addition to site conditions, the city environment itself is often warmer than the rural surroundings due to the urban heat island (UHI) effect (Oke 1982; Akbari et al. 2001; Day et al. 2010). Climate change is expected to aggravate the UHI effect and related environmental issues, such as a change of local pre- cipitation, spread of diseases from warmer climates, and air pollution (Oliveira et al. 2011). Several stud- ies have described a severe UHI effect, e.g., Zhou et al. (2014) showed a UHI effect of around 2 °C for China’s megacities, while Tran et al. (2006) found a UHI effect of 5 to 8 °C in Asian cities, with a maxi- mum of 12 °C in Tokyo, Japan, and Peng et al. (2012) found a UHI effect of around 6.5 °C for global big cit- ies. Even for a small European city at the coast of Crete, Greece, a UHI effect of 8 °C in summer was observed (Kolokotsa et al. 2009). Another study on the UHI effect in Europe during the severe heat wave of 2006 found that, interestingly, cities of cooler cli- mates seem to be more vulnerable to heat waves,
July 2021
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