102 Almas and Conway: Resident Attitudes and Actions Toward Native Tree Species actions (Finger 1994; Zagorski et al. 2004; Fish- bein and Ajzin 2010; Conway and Shakeel 2014). Research has also recently explored who partici- pates in voluntary tree-planting programs (Greene et al. 2011; Locke and Grove 2016; Nguyen et al. 2017), as well as strategies to increase community tree stewardship success (Vogt et al. 2015). Initia- tives, such as the Million Trees projects in New York City, New York, and Los Angeles, California, U.S., have enhanced community tree stewardship in their municipalities, and have been adopted by other municipalities (e.g., City of London, Ontario) aſter recognizing their success. However, little is known about residents’ attitudes and steward- ship actions related to common municipal urban forest management goals beyond planting trees. More specifically, it is unclear if residents sup- port native species goals that many municipali- ties are adopting, or if they are willing to select tree species to plant that align with these goals. To better understand residents’ potential role in increasing native tree species in the urban for- est, the major objectives of this study were to 1) explore urban residents’ attitudes and actions related to native tree species; 2) examine if the presence of a municipal urban forest management plan (UFMP) emphasizing native species is related to those attitudes or actions; 3) determine if atti- tudes vary among residents with different socio- demographic characteristics; and 4) explore if posi- tive attitudes toward native species translates into planting native tree species. These objectives are addressed through this case study of four munici- palities, two with a management plan emphasizing native species planting, and two without, in Caro- linian Canada (Ontario, Canada). The following sections outline recent research considering native species in urban forests and resident interactions with the urban forest, the methods and results, and the broader implications of the relationships present between residents and native tree species. NATIVE SPECIES AND RESIDENTIAL ACTORS IN THE URBAN FOREST Typically, urban forests contain higher tree spe- cies richness than neighboring natural forests, primarily because of the numerous non-native species regularly planted by municipalities, resi- dents, and other actors (Miller and Hobbs 2002; ©2018 International Society of Arboriculture Stewart et al. 2004; Bertin et al. 2005; Alvey 2006). This richness is not indicative of an even species distribution, as a few species oſten dominate, some native species are not planted, and many native and non-native species are quite rare within a given city (Kendle and Rose 2000; Clemants and Moore 2003; Hitchmough 2011; Schaeplfer et al. 2012). The benefit of maintaining native species diver- sity within urban forests is contested through- out the academic literature (Alpert et al. 2000; D’Antonio and Meyerson 2002; Sagoff 2005; Davis 2012; Sjöman et al. 2016); the multiple stressors within urban ecosystems, potential ecosystem ser- vice benefits of planting non-native species, hav- ing a limited catalogue of native species to fulfill ecosystem services and resilient to harsh urban ecosystems, and the uncertainty of added environ- mental stressors from a changing climate raise ques- tions about the benefits of a native-first approach. In any case, as many municipalities are pursuing aggressive tree-planting goals alongside the adop- tion of native species goals—oſten in response to loss of natural cover (Bardekjian et al. 2016)—there is a push for all urban forest actors to plant more native tree species in many North American cities. Across Canada, the planting and maintenance of native tree species is the only management topic that all municipalities’ UFMPs has in com- mon (Ordóñez and Duinker 2013). The promo- tion of native species in these plans is based on their contribution to ecological integrity, ability to grow well in the local climate, and the known risks associated with invasive non-native species (Almas and Conway 2016). Although many munici- palities in Canada and elsewhere are emphasizing native species planting in their urban forests, it is unclear whether residents are supportive of these goals or are taking actions that help meet them. Residents’ role in shaping the structure and func- tion of the urban forest is not fully understood, in part, because residents’ planting choices and moti- vations typically go undocumented. Collectively, residents manage much of the distribution and condition of the urban forest through the cumu- lative effects of many individual property-level decisions (Conway and Shakeel 2014). This is par- ticularly true for municipalities that have adopted ambitious long-term management plans to grow the urban forest, as residential planting is oſten
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