(110) Composition and Place of Origin of Trees in Residential Neighborhoods and Embedded Parks in Phoenix, Arizona

Abstract

This study evaluated the influence of social economic rank (SER) and neighborhood and park age on the composition and place of origin of trees in residential neighborhoods and embedded small urban parks in Phoenix, Ariz. During 2000 and 2001, trees were surveyed within an array of 16 residential neighborhoods and embedded small urban parks that spanned a range of socioeconomic rank (SER) and age. Parks were embedded within residential neighborhoods of similar density across three SER classifications, high, moderate, or low. Neighborhoods and parks ranged in age from about 1947 to 1997. Counts of all trees in each park were made and neighborhood tree composition was approximated by tree counts along four transects, distributed away from each park along streets in a northerly, easterly, southerly, or westerly direction, respectively. Transect widths extended about the depth of a front yard residence on both sides of the street. Park and surrounding neighborhood tree composition was calculated as total frequency (abundance) and taxa frequency (diversity) per hectare of landscape surface area. Tree abundance in parks was highest when surrounded by neighborhoods of high SER. Neighborhoods of high SER had greater tree diversity than neighborhoods of low SER. Distinct patterns of tree origin, dictated by both classifications of SER and age, were found. Overall, trees in residential neighborhoods and embedded parks tended to be indigenous to arid regions of North America, South America, Australia, south Asia, and China.