Street Trees - The Struggle for Survival, Peter Del Tredici, PhD

NJ Shade Tree Federation 96th Annual Conference- October 2021, Synopsis: This lecture provides a broad view of street trees, utilizing historical, ecological, aesthetic and horticultural perspectives to assess the role that trees play in making cities more livable for all their inhabitants. Using this integrated approach, Dr. Del Tredici will look at the myriad of issues that influence the survival of trees in the urban environment, including soil compaction and pollution, planting specifications, appropriate tree selection, and climate change issues related to temperature, rainfall and pests and pathogens.

[@phil20_20]

The most important thing is to get started and put a lot more effort in than we have been.

[@CandycaneBeyond]

id like to know why we stopped planting trees that can provide food and beauty

[@slynskey333]

This was so interesting

[@mellissadalby1402]

I wonder if trees planted in isolated pits fare worse because they are not connected to their neighbors via the mycorrhizal network like what naturally occurs in the forest? Do trees get "lonely" or }depressed" if they lack this connection to their neighbors via the mycorrhizal network?

[@phil20_20]

Quite probable

[@NatisParker]

🌵

[@keepmoving1185]

Street trees are made of trees, who am I to judge these leaves

[@susiefairfield7218]

better at 1.5x play back speed

[@tir3626]

I disagree there isn't a way to retrofit dense urban areas with street trees. Just remove street parking. Cities aren't for car ownership. Cars out. Trees in.

[@phil20_20]

There is always a way.

[@NatisParker]

Bold words, especially for New Jersey lol

[@threeriversforge1997]

A good talk. The one point I would disagree with, in part, is about using non-native trees. Sorry, but time and time again, we've seen non-native trees "escape" into the wilds to cause all sorts of ecological problems. It's foolishness, to put it mildly, for us to suggest planting trees to accomplish one ecological goal, a good thing, only for that to lead to significant ecological damage down the road. The Callery Pear is just one example of this.
The problem isn't that a non-native tree is running free, but that they take up space in the food web of the ecosystem without providing any benefit to the food web of the ecosystem. I would point to Dr. Doug Tallamy's exemplary work on documenting the negative impact non-native tree species have had in this regard. It's not always that the trees in question are 'invasive', because there are other issues at play here.
I do understand the problem of getting trees to survive in the harsh urban environment. However, if you watch the presentation closely, it seems like 90% of the problems causing mortality in tree plantings is due to how they are planted, not that native species are somehow unable to survive. The "tree pit", a cubic yard of dirt surrounded by pavement, spells certain death for most every tree species out there, especially the ones you want to grow tall and provide shade. The answer to that isn't to hunt for some rare non-native species that can live there, but to redesign the 'tree pit' and consider if, maybe, how we are treating the urban forestry is a lot like those wrought iron tree guards -- an anachronistic practice that's long since lost value.
As noted, creating a monoculture of any one tree, whether it's a non-native like the Norway Maple, or a native like the American Elm, leads to problems more often than not. And, yes, creating a complex planting with multiple species is a common-sense solution. I would encourage people to take that one step further and understand that there's more to the local ecosystem than just providing people with shady streets that make for a pretty picture. All the trees in the world don't amount to much if they aren't providing food and shelter for the pollinators that keep our ecosystem operating.

[@phil20_20]

Unfortunately, the mative areas no longer have the same climate parameters as they did when trees developed in the area. There have also been many invasive diseases that have permanently destroyed habitats.

[@threeriversforge1997]

@@phil20_20 It depends on how you define "native". Even though some things have changed, we can still find plants that are native to the region which will work to rebuild the ecosystem.
Those invasive diseases you mention should reinforce the point I made about bringing in non-native species. Every time you bring in something that isn't native to the area, you are running the risk of causing untold levels of damage.... and you can never predict how it will turn out.
Look at Kudzu as a perfect illustration of this. Billions of dollars worth of damage caused by "experts" who said this would be great for erosion control and animal feed. They ignored Panicum virgatum, a native plant that's great at erosion control and as animal feed. Maybe they didn't know about it, but they also didn't look. They didn't learn. They didn't examine the ecosystem and try to work within the construct that had evolved over millions of years.
Instead, they took the easy way out like so many people today are taking the easy way out. It's all about what I want right now, what gives me the fast buck, the quick return.
You'd think we'd learn from past mistakes, but apparently that's not the case.

[@rotarolla1]

Terra forming is becoming a lost art, start with flax grass and work up.