❮ Projects page Pennsylvania Horticultural Society

The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) works closely with partners from TreeVitalize, a state program launched by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and the Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation, to plant trees in urban areas. Through the PHS Tree Tenders bare root tree planting program, thousands of bare root trees were planted in Philadelphia by community volunteers since 2004 in the fall and spring seasons. With an intensified planting effort across the city, PHS felt that it was important to consider the care of those trees, understand their survival rate and assess the factors affecting their mortality.

Julia produced a series of maps to determine:

• The tree mortality of bare root trees
• Factors that affect mortality by comparing communities with more active tree stewards to less active groups
• Projections of canopy cover over time given mortality and planting rates to inform where trees could be planted.

The findings were intended to be used by urban forestry stakeholders in Philadelphia so that PHS urban foresters could make better informed planting decisions. The United States Forest Service Philadelphia Field Station plans to review and incorporate this study into their ongoing research on urban tree mortality. In the future, PHS and its partners hope to use the priority areas in urban forestry planning and as supporting material for grant proposals.