“Right tree, right place, right purpose”: Linking Governance and Biotechnical Capacities in Addressing Climate Change through Urban Trees

Abstract:

Cities worldwide are increasingly pursuing tree planting campaigns, and one of the desired objectives is mitigating and adapting to climate change with trees. Trees, in this lens, are a biotechnology that functions as infrastructure for climate resilience. But whether desirable climate change related objectives are achievable given the biophysical capacity of trees as well as current or future urban forestry governance schemes is still uncertain. We address this concern through a multi-component study involving semi-structured interviews with governmental and nonprofit organization leaders in urban forestry, ecophysiological and ecosystem service analysis of tree planting plans, and meta-analyses of the biophysical limits of trees vis-à-vis climate resilience. Specifically, we address the question, how do the expectations of urban forestry organizations for the benefits of tree planting activities compare to trees’ biophysical capacities? Initial findings from the interviews indicate the climate change related outcomes of carbon sequestration, heat reduction, water use, and stormwater management are commonly desired, central to the organizations’ missions, and incentivized by funding allocations. Despite this, specific targets or direct quantification of climate change outcomes are not common. Rather, species selection and placement are core levers practitioners consider to influence desired functional urban forest attributes. Multiple interviewees invoked the iconic phrasing ‘right tree, right place’ with one participant extending this professional aspiration to the infrastructural component: “right tree, right place, right purpose.” Going forward, research and practice that links governance schemes for urban trees with their biotechnical capacities to achieve realistic climate change benefits is urgent. Realizing the promise of nature as living infrastructure requires aligning desired outcomes within social-ecological limits of nature as a biotechnology in urban landscapes.