Wood_Dupras_2021

Wood SLR, Dupras J (2021) Increasing functional diversity of the urban canopy for climate resilience: Potential tradeoffs with ecosystem services? Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 58:126972. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2020.126972

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Keywords: Urban forest, climate change, species composition, Quebec, functional diversity

The function and resilience of the urban forest relies on the species composition – trait diverse communities have greater stability. Quebec City will lose 11% of trees to the emerald ash borer over the next 10 years – a big opportunity to reconfigure the composition of the urban canopy. Shift to climate-tolerant evergreens may reduce overall levels of ES but spread them out more evenly across the year. Use iTree and field sampling to estimate levels of ES. Stratified replanting strategy had best evenness and diversity scores for functional groups. Different scenarios resulted in higher levels of different ES. Incorporating conifer trees may be important in years to come due to increased rainfall and their ability to provide ES year-round. Conifer-focused scenario improved stormwater management, reduced air pollution, and reduced heating needs.