Abstract
There is little information on how urban forest ecosystems in South America and Mediterranean climates change across both space and time. This study statistically and spatially analyzed the spatio-temporal dynamics of Santiago, Chile’s urban forest using tree and plot-level data from permanent plots from 2002 to 2014. We found mortality, ingrowth, and tree cover remained stable over the analysis period and similar patterns were observed for basal area (BA) and biomass. However, tree cover increased, and was greater in the highest socioeconomic stratum neighborhoods while it dropped in the medium and low strata. Growth rates for the five most common tree species averaged from 0.12 to 0.36 cm·year−1. Spatially, tree biomass and BA were greater in the affluent, northeastern sections of the city and in southwest peri-urban areas. Conversely, less affluent central, northwest, and southern areas showed temporal losses in BA and biomass. Overall, we found that Santiago’s urban forest follows similar patterns as in other parts of the world; affluent areas tend to have more and better managed urban forests than poorer areas, and changes are primarily influenced by social and ecological drivers. Nonetheless, care is warranted when comparing urban forest structural metrics measured with similar sampling-monitoring approaches across ecologically disparate regions and biomes.
Highlights
Urban forests are characterized by unique soils and urban morphologies, heterogeneous vegetation structure and composition, and novel assemblages of native and exotic tree species [1,2,3].The spatial and temporal characteristics of urban forest structure are driven by biophysical factors such as topography, climate, biogeochemical cycles, and disturbances such as drought [2,4,5]
We found that urban forest mortality, ingrowth, and tree cover in the greater Santiago area remained stable during 2002 to 2014
There were some noticeable trends during the analysis period in that tree cover increased and was greater in the highest socioeconomic stratum; it decreased in the medium and low strata
Summary
The spatial and temporal characteristics of urban forest structure are driven by biophysical factors such as topography, climate, biogeochemical cycles, and disturbances such as drought [2,4,5]. They are affected by socioeconomic factors such as management and planning regimes, people’s preferences, and socio-political budgets and directives [6,7,8]. As all these drivers alter the structure and composition of an urban forest, so too are ecological processes affected and subsequently the provision of ecosystem. Other than these few studies, there is little information on how and why urban forest structure in South America, the global south, and Mediterranean climates changes across space and time
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