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Abstract\nNOVELTY STATEMENTModern era has witnessed particulate matter (PM) become one of the biggest threats for the existence of biological species. Therefore, a study was performed in Faisalabad city to evaluate PM retention and removal efficiency of ten local tree species. Branch samples were collected from urban, sub-urban and rural areas in September 2020 (183 days after rain), and in August 2021 (30 days after rain). Results showed that total PM load, PM>10 and PM10-2.5 retention was the highest in urban followed by sub-urban and rural area. PM>10, PM10-2.5, total PM, and PM deposition rate decreased significantly in the following order, F. benghalensis > T. arjuna > S. cumini > A. scholaris > F. religiosa > E. camaldulensis > D sissoo > C lancifolius > B. ceiba > M. alba during both years 2020, and 2021. During the artificial rainfall experiment, total PM removed by the species also followed the same order however, PM removal efficiency was the highest in B. ceiba and M. alba followed by E. camaldulensis, C. lancifolius, D. sissoo, T. arjuna, S. cumini, A. scholaris, F. religiosa and F. benghalensis. Therefore, it can be concluded that species selection must be done skillfully for congested urban environment.Owing to excessive industrialization and motorization, optimizing particulate matter (PM) removal from the atmosphere has become imperative. Since, trees can help in controlling the atmospheric PM therefore, current study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of ten tree species in controlling the atmospheric PM. These species belong to arid and semi-arid regions have not been characterized for the efficiency in removing PM from the atmosphere. The results will help in the selection of efficient local tree species for controlling atmospheric PM especially in the congested urban environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the relationship between various socioeconomic factors and urban forest structure is essential for directing resources to ensure equitable distribution of green space. Through a case study of a desert city, i.e., Phoenix, AZ, this study provides a novel application of Multiscale Geographically Weighted Regression (MGWR) in which we explore the spatially variable relationships between a wide array of socioeconomic indicators and urban forest attributes. Through the computation of various scales of influence for different explanatory variables, MGWR enhances our analysis's precision and stresses the association between socioeconomic status and urban forest structure at local and regional scales. Our results indicate that although there has been a pattern of green inequality where minority and low-income communities have less access to urban forests, education levels were mostly insignificant based on the MGWR results. In some instances, higher incomes are negatively correlated with tree canopy coverage. Additionally, the stem density model outperformed the canopy coverage model in terms of prediction accuracy. This research adds a new dimension to urban forestry literature and emphasizes the value of customized urban planning strategies and the environmental justice implications of urban forestry, particularly in arid environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to explore the relationships and perspectives of stakeholders involved in the stewardship of 'urban green infrastructure' in England. We used stewardship of the urban forest network (trees and associated green space) as a focal point by referring to four meanings of 'Stewardship', i.e. Motivation, Ethic, Outcome and Action proposed by Peçanha Enqvist et al. (2018). We studied the perspectives of stakeholders through a multi-regional approach, in five English cities (Newcastle/Gateshead, Leeds, Sheffield, Coventry and Bristol), assessing their views expressed via questionnaire and analysing responses through NVivo. We found support for stewardship as a key aspect of urban green infrastructure planning, one that encourages 'bottom up' participation. In the specific area of urban forestry in England we propose that to ensure a co-stewardship role, planning professionals and citizens should work together at all levels to identify key roles and stewardship niches that are complementary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI), the place where houses and vegetation meet or mix, is prone to cause fire incidents and potentially leads to huge economic loss destructive as well as negative social impacts. Due to rapid urbanization, continuous afforestation and extreme climate, the area of WUI fire outbreak is predicted to increase and might enter the period of high incidence of fires occurred in WUI around the world. China, in facing of similar forest fire risk in WUI, urgently needs more solutions to better prevent and control WUI fire. It summarized current status and previous progress of WUI fire prevention and control, listed several main characteristics of WUI, and proposed a set of overall principles and existing challenges for WUI fire under the new era in China. These efforts would provide theoretical innovation and technical support for WUI fire prevention and control in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban forestry programs across North America rely on volunteers to lead urban forest stewardship activities and encourage participation in tree planting and general maintenance. We examined the leadership structure of a tree planting initiative (TPI) in the greater Philadelphia region to understand the role and labor contributions of volunteer leaders, and the current challenges of achieving equitable urban tree canopy within community-led TPIs. Using an online survey, we found that leaders contribute unpaid labor, time, and skills within the following categories: group organization and communication, tree-planting and event coordination, tree care and maintenance, and broader environmental education and advocacy. Volunteer leaders also face challenges related to leadership and administrative tasks. This study deepens understandings of the labor needs within volunteer TPIs and potential ways to support the equitable growth of these initiatives moving forward. Future research is needed to understand recognitional equity gaps in volunteer leadership more broadly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individual tree detection in urban areas using unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) RGB imagery poses challenges due to the diverse shapes and structures of urban trees and the complexity of urban forests. The digital surface model (DSM) provides elevation data, and the fusion of UAV RGB imagery with elevation data has emerged as a promising approach for tree detection. Here, we constructed a novel network structure based on the faster region-based convolutional neural network (Faster R-CNN) to detect camphor trees in urban environments using RGB-DSM data. First, an attention fusion module was proposed to effectively fuse the RGB and DSM features by leveraging their complementarity. Second, the bidirectional feature pyramid network (BiFPN) was introduced to enhance the model performance in detecting camphor tree crowns of varying sizes. The results showed that our approach could effectively detect urban camphor trees and achieved an AP of 85.7%. Notably, our approach yielded an AP of 81.3% in urban green spaces. The analysis indicated that our approach was feasible for detecting camphor trees in urban areas and demonstrated its potential to facilitate urban forestry research and applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study evaluated the changes in land use and land cover (LULC) during a 23-year period and its resulting effects on the temperature in Oyo State metropolis. Landsat 8 images of the study area for 2000 and 2023 were downloaded and analyzed to observe and quantify these changes through the use of supervised classification method. Furthermore, the land surface temperature was computed using relevant formula. Within 23 years, the percentage of bare land, built-up areas and waterbody climbed from 0.48%, 38.51%, and 0.20% to 0.59%, 50.20%, and 0.66% respectively, while the percentage of vegetation declined from 60.82% to 48.54% according to the result. Additionally, in 2000, the land surface temperature ranged from 18.82°C to 28.25°C, and in 2023, it varied between 19.89°C and 32.21°C. Over the course of the 23-year study, it became clear that changes in the state's land cover and land use impacted on the rising temperatures, which were mostly brought on by a decline in vegetation cover. The study finds that Oyo State's metropolitan area is warmer than it was twenty-three years ago and as a result, it suggests that the government should support urban forestry initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here we report on the detection and surveillance response to two Rugonectria species found in Sydney, Australia, in 2015. Both Rugonectria castaneicola and R. wingfieldii sp. nov. were found in association with cankers on Quercus robur (English oak). The fungi were initially found to be localised on amenity trees in northern Sydney, New South Wales, and as they were new detections for Australia, eradication was considered. Ongoing surveillance across the Sydney basin, regional New South Wales, and the Australian Capital Territory, however, indicated that they were already well established. Species identities were confirmed through morphological examination and molecular barcoding, with the subsequent analysis undertaken to classify R. wingfieldii sp. nov. This study provides the first records of Rugonectria found in association with canker on Oak trees in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most urban tree inventories depend on resource-intensive, field-based assessments, which are unevenly distributed in space and time. Recently, these inventories have been conducted using field inventories combined with airborne multispectral, hyperspectral, LiDAR, and spaceborne multispectral remote sensing. Significant advances have been made in urban tree GIS databases and remote sensing methods, which include delineating individual tree crowns, extracting tree species metrics, and employing classification techniques. Generally, remote sensing methods distinguish individual urban trees using either pixel-based or object-based methods, while image classification procedures are typically divided into parametric (e.g., regression-based classification, Bayesian, and principal component analysis) and non-parametric approaches such as machine learning (e.g., random forests support vector machines) and deep learning (e.g., convolutional neural networks). Our synthesis of the current state of science suggests sensors with the highest spatial (m), spectral (bands), and temporal (repeat time) resolutions result in the most accurate tree species identification. Combining airborne LiDAR/hyperspectral or airborne LiDAR/spaceborne high-resolution multispectral sensors yields the highest accuracy for the most diverse urban forests. An object-based non-parametric approach, like a fully convolutional neural network, scores higher in accuracy assessments than pixel-based parametric approaches. Future studies can leverage global/regional GIS field inventory databases to expand the scope of studies within and across multiple cities, utilizing LiDAR and spaceborne sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brief introduction: What are microclimates and why are they important? Microclimate science has developed into a global discipline. Microclimate science is increasingly used to understand and mitigate climate and biodiversity shifts. Here, we provide an overview of the current status of microclimate ecology and biogeography in terrestrial ecosystems, and where this field is heading next. Microclimate investigations in ecology and biogeography: We highlight the latest research on interactions between microclimates and organisms, including how microclimates influence individuals, and through them populations, communities and entire ecosystems and their processes. We also briefly discuss recent research on how organisms shape microclimates from the tropics to the poles. Microclimate applications in ecosystem management: Microclimates are also important in ecosystem management under climate change. We showcase new research in microclimate management with examples from biodiversity conservation, forestry and urban ecology. We discuss the importance of microrefugia in conservation and how to promote microclimate heterogeneity. Methods for microclimate science: We showcase the recent advances in data acquisition, such as novel field sensors and remote sensing methods. We discuss microclimate modelling, mapping and data processing, including accessibility of modelling tools, advantages of mechanistic and statistical modelling and solutions for computational challenges that have pushed the state‐of‐the‐art of the field. What's next?: We identify major knowledge gaps that need to be filled for further advancing microclimate investigations, applications and methods. These gaps include spatiotemporal scaling of microclimate data, mismatches between macroclimate and microclimate in predicting responses of organisms to climate change, and the need for more evidence on the outcomes of microclimate management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban development in South America has experienced significant growth and transformation over the past few decades. South America's urban development and trees are closely interconnected, and tree cover within cities plays a vital role in shaping sustainable and resilient urban landscapes. However, knowledge of urban tree canopy (UTC) coverage in the South American continent remains limited. In this study, we used high-resolution satellite images and developed a semi-supervised deep learning method to create UTC data for 888 South American cities. The proposed semi-supervised method can leverage both labeled and unlabeled data during training. By incorporating labeled data for guidance and utilizing unlabeled data to explore underlying patterns, the algorithm enhances model robustness and generalization for urban tree canopy detection across South America, with an average overall accuracy of 94.88% for the tested cities. Based on the created UTC products, we successfully assessed the UTC coverage for each city. Statistical results showed that the UTC coverage in South America is between 0.76% and 69.53%, and the average UTC coverage is approximately 19.99%. Among the 888 cities, only 357 cities that accommodate approximately 48.25% of the total population have UTC coverage greater than 20%, while the remaining 531 cities that accommodate approximately 51.75% of the total population have UTC coverage less than 20%. Natural factors (climatic and geographical) play a very important role in determining UTC coverage, followed by human activity factors (economy and urbanization level). We expect that the findings of this study and the created UTC dataset will help formulate policies and strategies to promote sustainable urban forestry, thus further improving the quality of life of residents in South America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractUrban tree planting initiatives (TPIs) have become a prominent form of public work that has the potential to increase the livability and sustainability of cities. However, if not sufficiently resourced and thoughtfully planned and implemented, these high-profile programs may fail to achieve intended goals. To promote successful implementation of TPIs, we offer recommendations for the pre-planting, installation, and post-planting phases. During each of these phases we present five cross-cutting themes: ensuring adequate funding for all project phases; cultivating place-based landscape design; engaging and investing in communities; implementing sound planting practices; and evaluating performance and adapting over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI), the place where houses and vegetation meet or mix, is prone to cause fire incidents and potentially leads to huge economic loss destructive as well as negative social impacts. Due to rapid urbanization, continuous afforestation and extreme climate, the area of WUI fire outbreak is predicted to increase and might enter the period of high incidence of fires occurred in WUI around the world. China, in facing of similar forest fire risk in WUI, urgently needs more solutions to better prevent and control WUI fire. It summarized current status and previous progress of WUI fire prevention and control, listed several main characteristics of WUI, and proposed a set of overall principles and existing challenges for WUI fire under the new era in China. These efforts would provide theoretical innovation and technical support for WUI fire prevention and control in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Public engagement is needed to make sure urban forestry management efforts align with the values of the public being served. Noting this, we determined current and desired urban forest access of Florida (United States) residents using the criteria from the 3-30-300 rule (i.e., 3 trees visible from home, 30% urban tree canopy in neighborhood, and a green space within 300 meters of home). Methods: A survey of 1,716 Florida residents was conducted to assess canopy coverage and green space access. Respondents were then asked if this level of urban forest access was sufficient. We also asked their perceptions of the benefits and drawbacks of urban trees and whether they had any negative interactions with trees in the past. Results: We found that 37.3% of Florida residents met all 3 criteria of the 3-30-300 rule. Despite this, half the respondents would prefer more trees in their neighborhoods. When asked to name the top benefits provided by trees, the most common responses were shade, beauty, and attracting wildlife. The most common drawbacks to urban trees included the risk of damage to property, leaves/debris, and fears regarding storms and hurricanes. Conclusions: Florida residents largely value their urban forest and would like to see it maintained or enhanced. Improving access to greenspaces for recreation is the most pressing concern for urban forest managers in Florida looking to meet the requirements of the 3-30-300 rule. Results from this study can inform urban forest management efforts in Florida and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Trees in towns and cities provide many benefits, but also disservices such as risk and conflicts. Structural pruning of young trees can reduce future conflicts and risk as trees grow larger; it also can reduce future maintenance costs. Volunteers can perform important urban forestry tasks such as planting, watering, and conducting inventories. It was hypothesized that, with training, they could also learn to structurally prune young street trees. Methods: Forty-seven volunteers in three cities in Massachusetts were trained to structurally prune trees. Twenty volunteers trained in a classroom lecture; twenty-seven trained with a hands-on approach. The volunteers' performance was evaluated with a written exam and in situ assessments of their ability to specify and explain pruning recommendations and make pruning cuts. Training type and covariates (e.g., volunteers' familiarity with trees, number of branches) influence on volunteers' performance were investigated. Results: On the assessment of volunteers' ability to explain pruning recommendations, volunteers who received hands-on training achieved higher mean scores (79%) than volunteers who received classroom training (74%). All volunteers who received hands-on training did not leave a stub when making a reduction cut, but only 70% of volunteers who received classroom training did not leave a stub. Volunteers who received classroom training achieved higher scores on the exam (93%) than volunteers who received hands-on training (85%). Conclusions: Results suggest that with minimal training volunteers successfully learned structural pruning. This is an encouraging finding that may help municipal arborists accomplish more with limited urban forestry budgets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurately estimating vegetation biomass in urban forested areas is of great interest to researchers as it is a key indicator of the carbon sequestration capacity necessary for cities to achieve carbon neutrality. The emerging vegetation biomass estimation methods that use AI technologies with remote sensing images often suffer from arge estimating errors due to the diversity of vegetation and the complex three-dimensional terrain environment in urban ares. However, the high resolution of Light Detection and Ranging (i.e., LiDAR) data provides an opportunity to accurately describe the complex 3D scenes of urban forests, thereby improving estimation accuracy. Additionally, deep earning foundation models have widely succeeded in the industry, and show great potential promise to estimate vegetation biomass through processing complex and arge amounts of urban LiDAR data efficiently and accurately. In this study, we propose an efficient and accurate method called 3D-CiLBE (3DCity Long-term Biomass Estimation) to estimate urban vegetation biomass by utilizing advanced deep earning foundation models. In the 3D-CiLBE method, the Segment Anything Model (i.e., SAM) was used to segment single wood information from a arge amount of complex urban LiDAR data. Then, we modified the Contrastive Language–Image Pre-training (i.e., CLIP) model to identify the species of the wood so that the classic anisotropic growth equation can be used to estimate biomass. Finally, we utilized the Informer model to predict the biomass in the ong term. We evaluate it in eight urban areas across the United States. In the task of identifying urban greening areas, the 3D-CiLBE achieves optimal performance with a mean Intersection over Union (i.e., mIoU) of 0.94. Additionally, for vegetation classification, 3D-CiLBE achieves an optimal recognition accuracy of 92.72%. The estimation of urban vegetation biomass using 3D-CiLBE achieves a Mean Square Error of 0.045 kg/m2, reducing the error by up to 8.2% compared to 2D methods. The MSE for biomass prediction by 3D-CiLBE was 0.06kg/m2 smaller on average than the inear regression model. Therefore, the experimental results indicate that the 3D-CiLBE method can accurately estimate urban vegetation biomass and has potential for practical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monitoring atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHGs) like carbon dioxide and methane in near real time and with good spatial resolution is crucial for enhancing our understanding of the sources and sinks of these gases. A novel approach can be proposed using a constellation of small satellites equipped with miniaturized spectrometers having a spectral resolution of a few nanometers. The objective of this study is to describe expected results that can be obtained with a single satellite named Uvsq-Sat NG. The SolAtmos end-to-end simulator and its three tools (IRIS, OptiSpectra, and GHGRetrieval) were developed to evaluate the performance of the spectrometer of the Uvsq-Sat NG mission, which focuses on measuring the main GHGs. The IRIS tool was implemented to provide Top-Of-Atmosphere (TOA) spectral radiances. Four scenes were analyzed (pine forest, deciduous forest, ocean, snow) combined with different aerosol types (continental, desert, maritime, urban). Simulated radiance spectra were calculated based on the wavelength ranges of the Uvsq-Sat NG, which spans from 1200 to 2000 nm. The OptiSpectra tool was used to determine optimal observational settings for the spectrometer, including Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) and integration time. Data derived from IRIS and OptiSpectra served as input for our GHGRetrieval simulation tool, developed to provide greenhouse gas concentrations. The Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm was applied iteratively to fine-tune gas concentrations and model inputs, aligning observed transmittance functions with simulated ones under given environmental conditions. To estimate gas concentrations (CO2, CH4, O2, H2O) and their uncertainties, the Monte Carlo method was used. Based on this analysis, this study demonstrates that a miniaturized spectrometer onboard Uvsq-Sat NG is capable of observing different scenes by adjusting its integration time according to the wavelength. The expected precision for each measurement is of the order of a few ppm for carbon dioxide and less than 25 ppb for methane. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gender-based violence (GBV) poses a significant concern in the construction and natural resources industries, where women, due to lower social status and integration, are at heightened risk. This systematic review aimed to identify the prevalence and experience of GBV in the construction and natural resources industries. A systematic search across databases including PubMed, OVID, Scopus, Web of Science, and CINAHL was conducted. The Risk of Bias Instrument for Cross-sectional Surveys of Attitudes and Practices by McMaster University and the Critical Appraisal of Qualitative Studies by the Center for Evidence Based Medicine at the University of Oxford were used to assess the studies included in the review. Six articles were included after full-text analysis. GBV was reported in the construction, mining, urban forestry, and arboriculture sectors. Workplace GBV was measured differently across the studies, and all studies examined more than one form of GBV. The main forms of GBV discussed in these studies were discrimination, sexual harassment, and sexism. The studies provided some insight for demographic factors that may or may not be associated with GBV, such as age, region of work, and number of years working in the industry. The review also suggests that workplace GBV has a negative impact on mental health and well-being outcomes, such as higher levels of stress and lower job satisfaction. The current research has not established the effectiveness of interventions, tools, or policies in these workplaces. Thus, additional research should include intervention studies that aim to minimize or prevent GBV in male-dominated workplaces. The current study can bring awareness and acknowledgement towards GBV in the workplace and highlight the importance of addressing it as this review outlines the negative consequences of GBV on mental health and well-being in these male-dominated industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Though the impact of urban vegetation on air quality and the microclimate has attracted increasing attention, there have been few studies quantitatively assessing this impact in North China, where air pollution is severe. In this study, we investigated the impact of urban forests and urban parks on air quality and the microclimate in Jinan, northern China. Six sites were chosen to represent urban forest, urban park, and downtown areas, respectively. The results indicate that urban forest can effectively reduce PM2.5 and ozone (O3) concentrations in the warm season, when temperatures are higher and plants are lush. The PM2.5 and O3 concentrations in the urban forest areas were 6.3–6.5 μg m−3 and 21–23 μg m−3 lower than those in downtown areas during the period of 10:00–15:00. In contrast, urban park areas can reduce PM2.5 concentrations but have little impact on gaseous pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide and O3. Furthermore, both urban forest and urban park areas reduced temperatures, by approximately 4.1–6.8 °C and 1.36 °C, respectively, and increased relative humidity, by about 13.4–12.9% and 0.9%, promoting a more comfortable thermal environment for residents. Therefore, this study highlights the crucial role of urban vegetation in improving air quality and creating a comfortable environment for residents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban vegetation plays a crucial role in reducing atmospheric particulate matter (PM), modifying microclimates, and improving air quality. This study investigates the impact of a laurel hedge (Laurus nobilis L.) on airborne PM, specifically total suspended particulate (TSP) and respirable particles (PM4) generated by a Diesel tractor engine. Conducted in a wind tunnel of approximately 20 m, the research provides insights into dust deposition under near-real-world conditions, marking, to our knowledge, the first exploration in a wind tunnel of this scale. Potted laurel plants, standing around 2.5 m tall, were arranged to create barriers of three different densities, and air dust concentrations were detected at 1, 4, 9, and 14 m from the plants. The study aimed both to develop an experimental system and to assess the laurel hedge's ability to reduce atmospheric PM. Results show an overall reduction in air PM concentrations (up to 39%) due to the presence of the hedge. The highest value of dust reduction on respirable particles was caused by the thickest hedge (three rows of plants). However, the data exhibit varying correlations with hedge density. This study provides empirical findings regarding the interaction between dust and vegetation, offering insights for designing effective hedge combinations in terms of size and porosity to mitigate airborne particulate matter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent rapid economic and infrastructure growth in India has led to degraded environmental conditions. Congested and densely populated urban areas have seen increased pollution, water pollution, and habitat and biodiversity loss. Urban green spaces (UGSs) are vital for improving such environmental qualities and coping with environmental challenges within cities. UGSs provide numerous tangible and intangible environmental, recreational/social, and economic benefits, also acknowledged as ecosystem services. This study assessed residents' perceptions of UGSs ecosystem services in Delhi, India. The main objectives were to (1) understand residents' visiting patterns of UGSs and corresponding socio-economic correlations (2) assess residents' knowledge and perceptions of ecosystem services and disservices, and (3) ranking of ecosystem services provided by UGSs based on significance to the residents. This study is based on a survey of 620 randomly selected respondents in UGSs throughout the city. Most respondents knew about ecosystem services in UGSs and believed the ecosystem services outweighed any ecosystem disservices. The results also showed the importance of improving urban microclimate and environmental quality was emphasized. Interestingly, ecosystem services like improve mental health and aesthetic beauty rated high. The improvement of wildlife habitat, fresh water, water flow regulation & runoff mitigation and the collection of fuelwood, fruits, honey and medicine were not seen as important by the respondents. Residents more readily recognized UGSs' direct benefits over the indirect benefits. Awareness of economic benefit was relatively high. Results from this research could help urban planners and developers to consider residents' perceptions and expectations when designing UGSs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The information related to the species of terrestrial mammals that can be detected along the nature trails established in the lowland tropical forests of Western Sabah remains scarce at this moment. The camera trapping surveys were commenced at the Tenghilan Community Forest (TCF), Kawang Forest Reserve (KFR), and the urban forest of Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) to investigate the terrestrial mammal species that could be observed along the local trails. A total of 20 terrestrial mammal species belonging to 13 different families were observed in 2,077 trap nights, where most of them were validated to be non-threatened (n = 16 or 80.0%) and omnivorous (n = 13 or 65.0%) species. Twelve species were found along the nature trails in TCF (H’ = 2.223; 1-D = 0.8650) and KFR (H’ = 1.730; 1-D = 0.7078), whereas seven species were detected along the trails in the urban forest of UMS (H’ = 1.217; 1-D = 0.5567). The differences in the mammalian composition, diversity richness, and distribution evenness between these three study sites were validated as significant (p<0.05). The present findings emphasize that these three study sites are favorable habitats for four threatened species. Hence, conservation efforts are needed to protect these terrestrial mammal species from facing extinction risks in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wasmannia auropunctata, the little fire ant, is an invasive pest threatening native biodiversity, agricultural and forestry production, and public health. In January 2022, wild populations of W. auropunctata were reported for the first time on the Chinese mainland. However, the stage and degree of W. auropunctata invasion in China are unclear. Therefore, assessing the risk of establishment and the potential impacts associated with this pest is crucial for preventing further spread. This study used the Bayesian additive regression trees (BARTs) model and global occurrence records to assess the potential distribution of W. auropunctata in southern China and the associated risk of invading urban, rural, agricultural, and forest lands. The results from our models indicate that: (1) coastal areas, southwest, and central areas are particularly suitable for W. auropunctata establishment; (2) temperature, clay content, mean normalized differential vegetation index (NDVI), and urban area are important factors in the distribution of W. auropunctata; (3) the agricultural lands in the coastal areas and the Yunnan–Guangxi border, the urban and rural lands in the coastal areas, and grasslands in the southwest should prepare for possible W. auropunctata invasion; and (4) forest lands have the highest area at risk of W. auropunctata invasion in southern China. These results provide valuable information for planning and implementing the monitoring and control strategies against W. auropunctata invasion in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The importance of urban trees and their benefits to society are increasingly recognized. However, cities are a challenging environment for trees to grow and thrive. Current knowledge on tree vulnerabilities to existing urban stressors remains scarce and available only for a limited number of species and specific stressors. Methods: Using the Delphi method with urban forestry experts familiar with the studied area and a closed-ended questionnaire, we sought to elucidate the tolerance of commonly planted urban tree species in northeastern North America to multiple urban stressors—air pollution, soil compaction, de-icing salts, insects and diseases, strong winds, ice storms, snow, drought, and extreme temperatures—as well as to assess which characteristics may capture a species’ ability to cope with these stressors. Results: Ginkgo biloba, Gleditsia triacanthos, Quercus spp., and Ulmus spp. were rated by urban forestry professionals as the most tolerant species in northeastern North America to the studied stressors. No species was listed as tolerant to all stressors. Furthermore, respondents disagreed on how a given species was likely to be affected by or respond to a given stressor. Conclusions: Our study provides a powerful approach to gaining difficult-to-obtain information on trees’ vulnerabilities to environmental stressors and identifying the gaps that remain unaddressed. Our findings fill some of the gaps in our knowledge of city trees’ vulnerabilities, which makes the approach useful in practice to inform the choice of tree species that could be planted across our cities to build more resilient urban forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Urban forests are increasingly recognized as important tools in climate change mitigation and adaptation, prompting many cities to set tree canopy cover targets. However, current gaps in knowledge include understanding relationships and the feasibility of maximizing benefits between urban greening and other climate actions, such as densification. This study offers a data-driven and manageable framework for assessing current and anticipated future urban forestry conditions using spatial tree and built-form models. Methods: We spatially modelled 4 planting scenarios for increasing tree canopy cover by 2050 in a densifying neighbourhood in Vancouver, Canada, with low (< 10%) existing tree canopy. Results: Based on mortality assumptions, we aged out and replaced 1,853 to 2,445 trees since 2020. We added 6,079 to 11,726 trees across the 4 scenarios (10,228 to 15,823 total), increasing canopy cover from 7% in 2020 to a maximum of 16% by 2050. Despite rigorous tree planting, we were unable to achieve a 30% canopy cover target at neighbourhood scale. Tree replacement due to mortality was a major contributor to decreased canopy cover and volume in future scenarios. The 31% to 34% reduction in future canopy cover due to the replacement of aged-out trees was driven by changes on private parcels. Conclusion: Our systematic framework for generating and spatially modelling trees in a simulated future neighbourhood provides an opportunity for iteratively assessing multiple potential tree planting configurations. Future work for this project includes investigating social-ecological, outdoor shading, and building energy implications of various modelled urban forest strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The field of urban forestry encompasses many dimensions, of which that of visual-spatial perception, addressing the spatial relationship between city and trees, has received little attention. Analyzing the urban forest from a visual-spatial perspective is needed to understand relationships between different components as well as site-specific qualities. Methods: Tree configurations describe the relationship between form and space, determined by the relative disposition of the trees which result from an interaction between design and the development over time. Based on field observations, with the city of Delft in the Netherlands as a case study, 35 generic tree configuration types have been defined. With this “vocabulary,” specific tree configurations and their relations are researched, describing the urban forest from an eyelevel perspective as an essential level on which the spatiality of the urban forest can be understood. Results: Unraveling the urban forest components by comparing two emblematic ensembles of tree configurations allows an understanding of their heterogeneity as well as their coherence and dynamics. Conclusions: The relationship of the tree vocabulary with the specific location exposes their role as an ordering structure and a carrier of the identity of Delft, and their differentiation and site-specific qualities, revealing a composition of wooded areas each with their own characteristics, shows both urban and forested areas as equivalent components of an urban forest mosaic. This differentiation can be used as a tool for strengthening relations between the different components as well as diversity and heterogeneity in urban forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of the present study was to assess urban forestry in the city of Aquidauana (state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil) to contribute to the establishment of a municipal urban afforestation plan. Methodology: Eight quadrants measuring 200 × 500 m were sampled, totaling 23 km of walkways, 59 streets in seven neighborhoods and 1280 trees, corresponding to a sampling intensity of 6.4% (95% precision; 10% error limit). Information was obtained on species, origin, spatial variables and plant health. Originality/Relevance: We present important qualitative and quantitative aspects for the planning and management of urban forests in the city, which may be insufficiently considered by the local public administration. Results: The number of trees per kilometer of walkway is below the recommended figure. We recorded 101 species distributed among 36 families. A high number of native species was found, but exotic species predominated in both number and abundance, especially Moquilea tomentosa (60%). Regarding the spatial component, 46% of the trees were located under power lines and 60% of these trees had some conflict with the grid. Approximately 17% of the trees were closer to the curb than the recommended distance. Among the trees sampled, most (60%) did not present any type of conflict with infrastructure. Tree health merits attention, as less than 10% of the population was categorized as being in an optimum state. Management contributions: We recommend the implantation of legal norms for tree management, including the offer of tree-trimming courses for those involved in this practice in the city, as well as the planting of native species and the adoption of environmental education programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To analyze the effect of wind gusts on the root plate inclination in urban trees and to identify the dendrometric variables that most interfere with the trees' response regarding the root plate inclination in order to contribute to the management of urban planning aimed at sustainable cities. Methodology: The inclination data was collected by Tree Motion Sensors (TMS), which record the actual inclination of the tree root plate. The maximum and average slope and the number of slope occurrences were related to the maximum wind gust and the dendrometric characteristics of the trees. Originality/Relevance: The Urban Forest is fundamental for improving the environmental and housing quality of cities. However, trees encounter stressful conditions in the urban environment which can compromise their structure and stability, increasing the risk of falling. Research that analyzes the effects of loads exerted by natural elements on urban trees can provide relevant information for predicting fall risks. Results: Wind was the factor responsible for approximately 51% of the occurrences of root plate tilting and most of the trees showed a tendency to sway in a southwest/northeast direction. Lagerstroemia speciosa (L.) Pers. was the species with the greatest inclination angle. DBH and crown diameter were the variables which showed a significantly strong correlation with root plate inclination. Contributions to management: These results can help to develop preventive measures against tree falls, contributing to the effective management of urban forestry in order to establish more sustainable and resilient cities, so as to support sustainability actions applied to urban planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban living limits access to nature yet spending time in nature is crucial for human health and well-being. To overcome this, urban planners and policymakers are actively looking for different ways to conserve and create more urban nature through parks, street trees, and other greening strategies. However, research shows that in most cities, these greening efforts are not equitably distributed, nor are they equal in terms of their quality or benefits they provide. Creating more equitable access to urban nature is a challenge and a priority in the next decade, and so is improving the quality of urban nature and associated benefits for urbanites. To address this challenge and contribute at both practical and conceptual levels, we propose a new Local Restorative Nature (LRN) index for geospatially assessing the "restorative quality" of urban nature that can support mental well-being. To contextualize the LRN index, we map the distribution of restorative nature in relation to social vulnerability in Vancouver, Canada. The novel LRN index provides critical insights showing that many neighborhoods with vulnerable populations in Vancouver have less exposure to restorative nature to support mental health and highlights where to strategically prioritize urban greening investment in areas that need it the most. The LRN index is scalable and can be used by urban planners in other cities and contexts to improve equitable distribution of restorative nature and better support urbanites' well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As cities attempt to ameliorate urban green inequities, a potential challenge has emerged in the form of green gentrification. Although practitioners are central to urban greening and associated gentrification, there has yet to be an exploration of practitioner perspectives on the phenomenon. We fill this gap with an online survey of 51 urban greening practitioners in Metro Vancouver and the Greater Toronto Area. Most respondents defined green gentrification as the displacement of vulnerable residents due to the installation or improvement of green space that attracts wealthy in-movers and increases property values. They were most likely to identify greening as driving green gentrification, with a minority identifying other systemic drivers with greening in a secondary role. Although 39 of 51 participants had some familiarity with green gentrification, most reported low confidence in their understanding of the concept, little evidence of using the concept in their work, and moderate concern that their work is implicated in green gentrification. The gentrification issues most encountered by practitioners were changes to neighbourhood character and uneven investment in public infrastructure, and those working in domains linked to planning, equity, and engagement were most likely to encounter gentrification issues. Practitioners experienced multiple barriers to addressing green gentrification, including limited institutional capacity, limited access to data and relevant information, policy/mandate restriction, and lack of engagement tools. Results indicate that practitioners have a moderate understanding of green gentrification but do not often use the concept in their work, despite their potential to contribute to or exacerbate it. This suggests some resistance to critiques of urban greening practice, a failure of scholarly critiques of urban greening to influence policy change, and the need for stronger research theory and research co-creation involving practitioners and academia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: Urban tree composition is generally highly diverse and largely non-native in origin. Species selection, however, should consider not only future predicted climate and species’ environmental requirements, but also the regional invasion risk assessments and the respiratory health potential of species. Here, we assessed the suitability of the most frequent urban tree species by using available online databases. M&M: Suitability was assessed by analysing tree attributes in relation to their invasive status in the study area, the respiratory health potential of the species given by their known pollination strategy and the bioclimatic match of species with the plantation zone. We grouped species according to their nativeness as non-native, regionally native and local native. After filtering those with undesirable characteristics (i.e., invasive species and/or with anemophilous pollination strategy) we analysed three bioclimatic variables: annual temperature, annual precipitation and precipitation seasonality. Results: Results showed that the composition of Córdoba’s street trees is heavily biased towards non-native species, many of which are invasive, have an anemophilous pollination strategy and/or exhibit high bioclimatic mismatch. In addition, the strong bias in the current tree composition towards species from more humid, temperate regions is evident. Conclusions: Our results highlight the importance of revising current policy decisions to adjust urban tree flora in the face of climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The benefits of green areas mostly depend on the trees' dimension, which in the urban environment is not as predictable as it is in woodland. Growth models based on tree height and tree diameter at breast height have been largely employed to predict tree growth also in urbanised contexts. However, city environments differ from natural ones, and in addition to geographical influence, they present high variability in growth conditions within a few metres. Different urban conditions may influence tree vertical and diametral growth. The present study aims to jointly consider the effect of urban environment, maintenance practices and available space on the size growth of some tree species. Dendrometrical, space, management and status parameters of the sampled trees were collected during field surveys 14 years apart. Tree height and diameter at breast height data interpolations were realised and charted by an open-source graphing calculator to build three different growth equations (linear, logarithmic and logistic) for each of the five species considered regardless of tree growth conditions. The comparison between the comprehensive best-fitting models realised within this study and a USA inventory-based study highlighted quite similar tree growth trends, probably due to the consideration of both constrained and unconstrained trees. Furthermore, a study on the curves of same-growth condition trees of the same species was conducted. Generally, heavy pruning techniques such as control and pollard pruning, characterised by the removal of a consistent part of the tree crown, stand out as the main growth-limiting factor for the different species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: The involvement of citizens in urban forest management has become increasingly important in order to improve forest conditions and enhance the overall experience of forest users. However, there are various factors that can impact individuals' willingness to participate in these initiatives. It is essential to comprehend the barriers and identify potential areas for participation from the perspective of citizens to ensure effective planning and implementation of participatory forest management. This article seeks to examine the factors that influence people's willingness to engage in urban forest management, paying specific attention to socio-economic variables, demographic groups, and the identification of barriers and opportunities for participation. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in the urban forests of Khorram Abad, and the sample population consisted of visitors to these forests. A total of 400 participants were selected using the proportional assignment method, following the Krejci-Morgan approach. Data collection was conducted through a researcher-developed questionnaire, which underwent validation and reliability testing. The questionnaire aimed to investigate different socio-economic variables and their correlation with the willingness to participate in urban forest management. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were utilized to examine the collected data. Results: The study findings suggest that forest visitors perceive a lack of impact on management programs and the absence of active community organizations as the primary barriers to citizen participation. However, there are potential areas for involvement, such as citizen education, waste management, and tree species protection. Participants identified the recreational and aesthetic values of urban forests, as well as their positive effects on physical and mental health and air pollution reduction, as the most significant functions. Furthermore, the study reveals variations in willingness to participate among different demographic groups. Women exhibited a higher inclination for participation compared to men, while unmarried individuals showed a greater willingness than their married counterparts. Moreover, individuals who were members of environmental associations or groups and engaged with environmental pages on social platforms demonstrated a stronger desire to participate in urban forest management. The duration of city residency and education level were positively correlated with the willingness to participate, as were the frequency of visits to urban forests. Conclusion: The study findings highlight the significance of taking socio-economic characteristics into account when designing participatory programs for urban forest management. Although individuals' tendencies to participate may vary based on their socio-economic backgrounds, the overall interest in engaging in forest management activities remains significant. Therefore, city managers should prioritize the development of planning and educational-promotional initiatives that facilitate and encourage public involvement. By addressing barriers, promoting citizen education, and fostering collaboration with environmental organizations, urban forest management can effectively be enhanced through increased public participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The beneficial effect of exposure to nature and immersion in natural environments on perceived well-being is well established. Nevertheless, we acknowledge an emerging need to disentangle the role of specific environmental features from individual factors that encourage a positive person-environment interaction. This study aimed at evaluating the associations between four buffer distances of greenness and dimensions of perceived restorativeness, with connectedness towards nature (CTN) as a confounder variable, in a sample of 312 visitors to a large urban park. Variables investigating ecosystem services (ES, e.g., thermal comfort) were included as covariates. Results revealed differentiated effects of greenness level, sunlight intensity, and connectedness to nature in the pathways towards dimensions of restorativeness. Greenness level at 300 m was associated with Fascination, Scope, and Being Away, while at 500 m was associated with Coherence, Scope, and Being Away. ES was found to be associated with Coherence, while CTN with the other three dimensions of restorativeness. The moderating effect of sunlight level in the relationship between NDVI buffer distances and the total score of perceived restorativeness was also confirmed. The present work is intended to offer insights on the interplay between environmental features and individual differences for implications in several contexts, including the opportunity to develop tailor-made planning for urban forestry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Urban forests can provide nature-based solutions (NBS) to complex climate-change challenges via the provision of ecosystem services such as shade and cooling that offset increased risks of chronic diseases and excess mortality. They also confer indirect health benefits by providing regulating ecosystem services that can facilitate climate-change mitigation efforts: increased shade can encourage shifts to lower-carbon transportation methods such as walking and cycling, for example. However, in order to ensure that urban forests are both resilient to threats and confer the maximum possible benefits, we must be able to project decades into the future in order to understand the implications of current urban forestry decisions. Methods: This study outlines a framework for creating urban-forest scenario models and reports the results of a case study conducted to highlight the ways in which decisions made at each stage of the scenario-development process impact its outcomes and application. Our case study focused on a neighbourhood in Vancouver, Canada, that is simultaneously undergoing urban densification and aiming to significantly increase canopy cover by 2050. Three distinct aims were identified for the case study: maximizing publichealth benefits, selecting climate-resilient tree species, and integrating planting across public and private lands to advance diversity. To achieve these aims, baseline information on the neighbourhood's existing tree network was collected, entered into GIS software, and delineated based on a set of pre-identified characteristics. Next, a list of climate-adapted species was developed. This climate-adapted species list was then virtually "planted" across the neighbourhood, using a combination of machine-based and manual planting techniques. Finally, the resulting scenario model was quantitatively assessed to understand its composition and impacts. Results: Our study demonstrates that a salubrious, resilient, and diverse urban forest can be created via a strategic program that complements extant trees in the public domain with planting programs along blue-green streets and on private property. Conclusions: Achieving the urban tree trifecta will require collaboration among municipal departments and the development of a range of public and private initiatives, but it has the potential to maximize nature-based solutions in cities facing rapid shifts due to densification and climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Private-sector urban and community forestry (U&CF) is a major segment of the green industry with substantial socio-ecological and economic contributions to urban and sub-urban communities. The COVID-19 pandemic reportedly caused heterogeneous impacts on businesses, the workforce, and various sectors of the overall economy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the perceived impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on private businesses carrying out U&CF activities in the Southern United States. Methods: Using data collected through an online survey distributed across the Southern USA in 2021, we developed and estimated an empirical model to evaluate the factors describing the perceived impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on U&CF businesses in the region. Results: Results suggest that COVID-19 had, on average, a neutral impact on the U&CF activities performed by the private sector in the study region, but the perceived impacts varied by the industry types. Results from the ordered logistic regression suggest that nursery and garden supply stores were more likely than other businesses to have a positive impact of COVID-19 on the U&CF segment of their business. Similarly, business metrics such as the size of the company in terms of annual sales and revenues or longevity in the business were found to be signifi cant factors explaining the COVID-19 impacts on U&CF business. Conclusions: Our study fi ndings are useful for U&CF decisionmakers for better planning, preparedness, and programming of U&CF activities and businesses in the southern USA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Tree risk assessment methods have been developed to assist arborists in conducting thorough and systematic inspections of trees and the threat they pose to people or property. While these methods have many similarities, they also have a few key differences which may impact the decisions of those employing them. Moreover, arborists specify the associated timeframe for their risk assessment, which can range from months to years. How this impacts risk assessment reproducibility is unknown. Methods: To assess the impact of risk assessment methodology, we sent videos depicting trees in urban settings to arborists holding the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) Tree Risk Assessment Qualification (TRAQ; n = 28) or Quantifi ed Tree Risk Assessment (QTRA; n = 21) training. These assessments were compared to those prepared by North American arborists lacking the TRAQ credential (ISA BMP; n = 11). ISA BMP arborists were also asked to assess trees using both a 1-year and a 3-year timeframe. Results: While a direct comparison between the QTRA and TRAQ assessments is not possible given differences in terminology, arborists with the latter training were less likely to rate trees as having "high" or "extreme" risk compared to their ISA BMP counterparts. Moreover, we found that switching to a longer timeframe did not increase the variability of risk assessments. Conclusions: These results give further insights into how different risk assessment methods compare when assessing the same group of trees as well as the impact of training efforts and specified timeframe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remote sensing technologies have been increasingly crucial to support policy-makers in achieving their ecological strategies. The data provided by such technology can estimate the bioenergy source production rate and monitor deforestation. This work participates in the cause by contributing an aerial dataset and developing an intelligent tree-detection system usable for counting trees with the bioenergy potential. Low-altitude flying units have been vastly used for such a purpose due to their ability to capture highquality data from distant locations. Despite these potentials, collected images that compose a dataset are often characterized by imbalanced distribution among classes. The class disproportion can affect the overall model performance, as it severely deprives key features of under-represented classes. This study proposes datalevel approaches that adopt and extend prior sampling algorithms for object detection problems. The devised techniques try to reduce the number of redundant outputs obtained from sampling methods and reduce the iteration required to achieve the target imbalance ratio by employing a systematic flow. In such a process, the class distribution of an original dataset is used as a guideline for selecting candidates for subsequent processes. Our results show that the modified dataset can reduce the length of a training process shown by fewer iterations required to achieve the final metrics of its original dataset version and lower training losses in each iteration. Additionally, the modified dataset can improve the F-score (F1) and precision metric of object detection algorithm by up to 6%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The beneficial effect of exposure to nature and immersion in natural environments on perceived well-being is well established. Nevertheless, we acknowledge an emerging need to disentangle the role of specific environmental features from individual factors that encourage a positive person-environment interaction. This study aimed at evaluating the associations between four buffer distances of greenness and dimensions of perceived restorativeness, with connectedness towards nature (CTN) as a confounder variable, in a sample of 312 visitors to a large urban park. Variables investigating ecosystem services (ES, e.g., thermal comfort) were included as covariates. Results revealed differentiated effects of greenness level, sunlight intensity, and connectedness to nature in the pathways towards dimensions of restorativeness. Greenness level at 300 m was associated with Fascination, Scope, and Being Away, while at 500 m was associated with Coherence, Scope, and Being Away. ES was found to be associated with Coherence, while CTN with the other three dimensions of restorativeness. The moderating effect of sunlight level in the relationship between NDVI buffer distances and the total score of perceived restorativeness was also confirmed. The present work is intended to offer insights on the interplay between environmental features and individual differences for implications in several contexts, including the opportunity to develop tailor-made planning for urban forestry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban trees are extremely significant and provide numerous advantages for both the environment and people. In order to provide a healthy and sustainable environment, green spaces have long been seen as a crucial component of contemporary cities. Nevertheless, as urbanization and population growth have accelerated, environmental challenges have become a major worldwide issue. This study mainly focuses on the assessment of hazardous trees along the Bagmati river corridor and documents major tree species for urban forestry. The study was conducted in ward number 08 of Kathmandu metropolitan city. Total enumeration was carried out by recording information on trees through direct observation of the whole site. The International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) tree hazard evaluation method was used as a tree risk assessment tool. A total of 74 trees were recorded from the study site. Grevillea robusta, Cinnamomum camphora, Ficus bengalensis, F. religiosa, and so on were the major species planted along the Bagmati corridor. The trees were categorized in varying degrees of hazard. Forty-seven trees were less hazardous, 24 were semihazardous, and 3 were hazardous with hazard rates of 2.91, 6.04, and 9, respectively. Jasminum nudiflorum was the only hazardous species recorded followed by semihazardous species such as Morus alba and F. religiosa among other species, and Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Citrus limon, Psidium guajava, Alnus nepalensis, and so on were least hazardous tree species. The hazardous tree in urban areas increases the risk to people and public as well as private properties. There is a need for the removal of such hazardous trees and planting the right species at the right time. Moreover, regular inspection and a clear policy for urban trees are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several species of ambrosia beetles in the genera Euwallacea, Xyleborus, and Xylosandrus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) are considered major pests in agriculture, forestry and urban areas. Their concealed lifestyle allows them to evade detection, and increases their chances of being introduced to non-native regions. Their reproduction is dominated by sibling mating within maternal galleries, and this behaviour makes them difficult to control. Although a handful of studies have identified natural enemies associated with ambrosia beetles, very few have done this with the goal of creating a classical biological control programme. In this study, we sought to identify hymenopteran parasitoids associated with the invasive Euwallacea fornicatus species complex. We collected branches from infested trees in a native region in Taiwan, recorded parasitoid emergence, and attempted to rear any emerging parasitoids using laboratory reared hosts and experimentally infested logs. We identified three species of parasitoid wasps that successfully parasitised beetles in the E. fornicatus species complex. These species were all new to science belonging to the genera Eucosmophorus (Braconidae), Phymastichus (Eulophidae), and Plastanoxus (Bethylidae). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

These research articles are highly varied and can be classified into eight sub-domains that are representative of the chosen domain: natural and human disturbances, genetics, site conditions, tropical forest, peri-urban forest, forest soils, forest reserves, and mountain ecosystems (Figure 2). The sustainable and regular supply of ecosystem services by forests requires excellent knowledge of the functional and biological diversity in these complex ecosystems [[7], [9]]. In this study, natural forests were the most positively rated type of forest, while the managed ones were the least positively rated, revealing an important trend among the participants, and human intervention was not the foremost landscape-related factor affecting this perception. Forest ecosystems contribute to human wellbeing and the economy through the complex ecosystem services they provide [[1], [3], [5]]. [Extracted from the article]

This article discusses the importance of trees in urban environments and the environmental benefits they provide. The research project focused on street trees in Dublin and selected four commonly planted species for the study. The study found that trees can help improve air quality by absorbing pollutants, capture carbon dioxide through photosynthesis, and prevent rainwater runoff, reducing flooding. The research emphasizes the need to maintain existing tree stock and increase the density of urban canopy to maximize the benefits of trees in urban areas. [Extracted from the article]