Climate is changing: are we changing too?

Abstract

Many problems in the urban landscape can be reduced or eliminated by proper plant selection and by maintaining trees healthy so that they can fully provide their benefits. In a climate change scenario possible adaptation measures include changes to establishment practices and tree management, better matching of species to site, both under current and future climates, and the planting of non-native species and provenances in anticipation of climate change. Current opinion is to encourage the planting of local provenances of native species, citing adaptation of provenances to local conditions, and the requirement to maintain biodiversity and a native genetic base. However, local provenances may not be able to adapt to a changing climate, particularly given the rate of change predicted. Sourcing planting stock from regions with a current climate similar to that predicted for the future may provide one option, although care must be taken to ensure that suitable provenances are selected which are not at risk from, for example, spring frost damage as a result of early flushing. In this paper we’ll focused on the technical and practical solutions for the selection of trees that might be the best choice in urban environments for the next future, given differences in urban sites (infrastructures, climate, soils etc), species attributes, management requirements and climate.