Heritage Trees Research Articles

The Morphology of Heritage Trees in Colonial Town: Taiping Lake Garden, Perak, Malaysia

Heritage trees are appearance of historical and cultural significance, besides giving a unique historical and landscape roles in cities. The main objectives of this study are to introduce and promote the characteristics of heritage trees in Taiping Lake Garden to the community. The methodology of the study comprises a reviewed, identification and assessment based on (a) aged trees that near and over 100 years; (b) huge trees according to DBH and (c) general superlative qualities, remarkable historical, cultural and other special features. The importance of the study was to promote conservation of our heritage trees as regards the notable tree asset.

Recovery trends for multiple ecosystem services reveal non-linear responses and long-term tradeoffs from temperate forest harvesting

A major challenge for forest management is to reduce unintended tradeoffs resulting from timber harvesting. However, few empirical studies provide quantitative evidence for how ecosystem service trade-offs in forests persist over longer timeframes. Here, we examine the long-term recovery of multiple ecosystem services following harvest of old-growth forest stands on Vancouver Island, BC, Canada. We used a novel 212-year forest chronosequence approach to estimate recovery of a coastal temperate forest’s capacity to provide eight ecosystem services. We examined: wood volume, carbon storage for climate regulation, potential nesting habitat for an old-growth associate bird species the marbled murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus), coarse woody debris, habitat provided by standing dead trees, large heritage trees, wild edible berries, and large redcedar (Thuja plicata) trees used traditionally by First Nations for carving canoes and totem poles. Ecosystem service recovery trajectories followed u-shaped or s-shaped trajectories with varying times to reach old-growth conditions. Some services remained high post-harvest (e.g., habitat services of coarse woody debris) or recovered quickly in the first 100years (e.g., carbon storage). However, cultural ecosystem services such as the large cedar trees used in traditional First Nations carving, had 200+ year delays in recovery. Our empirically-derived ecosystem services recovery trajectories demonstrate the complexity of long-term dynamics of harvest tradeoffs and help identify strengths and limitations of management approaches for sustaining multiple forest ecosystem services.

Conservation and applications of camphor tree (Cinnamomum camphora) in China: ethnobotany and genetic resources

The camphor tree, Cinnamomum camphora (L.) J. Presl, is an arbor species in southern part of China. Many linguistic groups cultivate it for timber, medicine, pesticide, ornamental and other purposes. However, less ethnobotanical information about this important species had been reported in any international journal. This paper focused on the conservation and traditional uses of camphor tree, especially its cultural significance among different ethnic groups. The approaches including literature surveys, ethnobotany, semi-structured interviews and participatory observation were adopted in the study. Six sites from Hunan, Jiangxi and Guizhou provinces had been selected for fieldwork, and 127 informants in both rural and urban areas had been interviewed. The results showed traditional uses of Cinnamomum camphora covered garden and ornamental, timber (construction, furniture and sculpture), medicine, pesticide and repellents, and cultural purposes. The most important value is its application in culture and religion. One city, 13 townships and 75 villages in southern part of China have been named after it. Camphor tree has been elected as city tree by 2 provinces and 36 cities. Citizens with C. camphora as their city tree covered a population of 172.81 millions. A lot of ancient camphor trees have been maintained in both rural and urban areas. Some of these heritage trees were cultivated 2000 years ago. Many of them have been regarded as sacred trees. The local people worship and conserve these sacred trees. The fact that many heritage trees and sacred trees of C. camphora were maintained in southern part of China showed its irreplaceable position in traditional Chinese culture, which improved the conservation and sustainable uses of this species.

Citizens' distrust of government and their protest responses in a contingent valuation study of urban heritage trees in Guangzhou, China

Protest response is a common aspect of contingent valuation (CV) studies, which has attracted growing attention from scholars worldwide. Distrust of government, understood as one of the major reasons for protest response, has been prevalent across transitional China experiencing dramatic changes in its economy, society and natural environment. Citizen distrust of government would significantly hinder the efficiency and validity of the contingent valuation method (CVM) application focusing on the provision of public environmental and ecological goods in China, as a large proportion of protest responses might be induced. Hitherto little has been done to link residents’ trust in government to their environmental behaviors in developing and transitional economies like China where CVM has been increasingly applied to generate meaningful and reliable information for integrating both ecological and socioeconomic perspectives into policy decisions. This study aims to investigate the discrepancies between protest responses induced by distrust of government and non-protest responses, using the contingent valuation of heritage trees in Guangzhou as a case. The combination of a set of debriefing questions and several attitudinal questions is employed in the questionnaire. Based on logit analysis and discriminant analysis, it has been found that protestors who distrust government and non-protestors share similar salient values associated with urban heritage trees in Guangzhou, especially their distinctive historical and cultural values, in comparison with ordinary urban trees. Residents with low familiarity with heritage trees (who rarely visit sites with heritage trees, know little about management and conservation techniques, and consider present management to be ineffective) are likely to act as protesters with the “distrust of government” belief. Only if more opportunities are provided for residents to obtain access to urban heritage tree sites, more information (about urban heritage trees and other environmental and ecological goods) is disseminated, and more effective management is implemented, can better governmental trust be developed and stronger public participation and support secured. The results of this study can shed light on understanding protest responses in CV studies and improving the reliability and efficiency of CVM in China and other developing countries where a low level of trust in government prevails.

Public willingness-to-pay for conserving urban heritage trees in Guangzhou, south China

Heritage trees in cities represent special natural-cum-cultural assets of cities. They could contribute substantially to the quality of urban life and social welfare through the provision of an array of biological, aesthetical, environmental, and cultural benefits. The conservation of this rare and unique natural asset is a challenging endeavor in developing countries, such as China, where the intense pressures of rapid urbanization must be confronted. There is an urgent need to present these trees to the public in a way which reflects their true value to society. The present study estimated public willingness-to-pay (WTP) for the conservation of heritage trees in Guangzhou, south China by applying the contingent valuation method (CVM). The results revealed that the mean WTP was about RMB24.67 per household for common heritage tree species (with a 95% confidence interval of RMB17.46 to RMB31.88), and RMB31.26 per household for rare heritage tree species (with a 95% confidence interval of RMB21.60 to RMB40.97), respectively. Public WTP is insensitive to the rarity status of some heritage tree species, indicating that all old trees are considered as a special rare natural resource, and that there is also a general lack of publicity of the endangered status of those old trees. Analysis also showed that although people could ascribe high importance to the special cultural and biological values of urban heritage trees, it is the overall value of heritage trees, particularly the recreational value, that determines respondents’ decision ‘to pay’ or ‘not to pay’ for their conservation. This recognition of the importance of various values has no impact on respondents’ decision about ‘how much to pay’. Income level is the only significant socioeconomic variable in WTP function, indicating that respondents’ decision about ‘how much to pay’ is mainly based on their economic resources. Thus, it is necessary to foster public environmental awareness and responsibility in order to link individual moral obligation with conservation behavior in educational processes.

OregonScape

Oregonscape Though people have lived in the lower Willamette Valley for millennia, few identified sites remain from the times before the arrival of newcomers in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centureis.One such place is The Pow Wow Tree,a big leaf maple tree (Acer macrophyllum ) that grows near the Clackamas River.Near this tree,the Clackamas and Multnomah tribes would meet with other people to conduct business and settle affairs. The tree is now the emblem of the city of Gladstone. Located on Clackamas Boulevard, the area around the tree has been the site of many events. Local Indians had a racetrack next to the tree. Peter Rinearson, whose donation land claim included the tree, used the track to train his racehorses. In 1861, the first Oregon State Fair was held on the site with the racetrack serving as the parade ring and the Pow Wow Tree standing at the fair’s entrance. With a trunk circumference of seven feet, in 2004, it became an Oregon Heritage Tree. — Mikki Tint, former special collections librarian, OHS Research Library Learn more about the Pow Wow Tree at www.ohs.org/research/quarterly/oregonscape.cfm. The Pow Wow Tree, located in Gladstone, Oregon, was recognized in 1979 as a Bicentennial Tree (having been alive at the time of the American Revolution). It stands today as a piece of history that one can still touch. OHS Research Library, OrHi 51917 ...

OregonScape

Oregonscape Though people have lived in the lower Willamette Valley for millennia, few identified sites remain from the times before the arrival of newcomers in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centureis.One such place is The Pow Wow Tree,a big leaf maple tree (Acer macrophyllum ) that grows near the Clackamas River.Near this tree,the Clackamas and Multnomah tribes would meet with other people to conduct business and settle affairs. The tree is now the emblem of the city of Gladstone. Located on Clackamas Boulevard, the area around the tree has been the site of many events. Local Indians had a racetrack next to the tree. Peter Rinearson, whose donation land claim included the tree, used the track to train his racehorses. In 1861, the first Oregon State Fair was held on the site with the racetrack serving as the parade ring and the Pow Wow Tree standing at the fair’s entrance. With a trunk circumference of seven feet, in 2004, it became an Oregon Heritage Tree. — Mikki Tint, former special collections librarian, OHS Research Library Learn more about the Pow Wow Tree at www.ohs.org/research/quarterly/oregonscape.cfm. The Pow Wow Tree, located in Gladstone, Oregon, was recognized in 1979 as a Bicentennial Tree (having been alive at the time of the American Revolution). It stands today as a piece of history that one can still touch. OHS Research Library, OrHi 51917 ...

Heritage trees and landscape design in urban areas of Rwanda

Trees play a key role in neighborhood landscapes, a belief that has been widely held for millennia in areas beyond Sub-Saharan Africa. Unfortunately, awareness of modern landscape architecture was almost absent in Rwanda until the late 20th century. Today, houses with surrounding decorative and amenity plants are a common feature in Rwanda’s neighborhood landscapes and, as the villagization of settlements progresses, new kinds of landscapes are emerging. This paper explores neighborhood tree planting around human settlements in the country. Remote sensing, photogrammetry, photo interpretation, and plant surveys were the core methods used. The average tree cover fraction ranged between 10%–35%. As the result of what is hereafter referred to as the “luxury effect,” a discrete gradient was detected along which the diversity of ornamental and amenity trees increases with the socio-economic status of neighborhoods: from rural settlements to urban residences via a series of intermediate designs, in which different levels of human-built vegetated areas alternate with non-landscaped spaces. Showy, non-productive amenity trees tend to occur more in wealthy quarters of the inner core of cities while edible ornamentals and other productive neighborhood trees prevail in rural and spontaneous settlements. In general, the practice of landscape plant design, in spite of its constant improvement, is still striving to get established as a profession in the country.

Ectomycorrhizal inoculum potential of northeastern US forest soils for American chestnut restoration: results from field and laboratory bioassays

American chestnut (Castanea dentata) was once a dominant overstory tree in eastern USA but was decimated by chestnut blight (Cryphonectria parasitica). Blight-resistant chestnut is being developed as part of a concerted restoration effort to bring this heritage tree back. Here, we evaluate the potential of field soils in the northern portion of the chestnut's former range to provide ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungus inoculum for American chestnut. In our first study, chestnut seedlings were grown in a growth chamber using soil collected from three sites dominated by red oak (Quercus rubra) as inoculum and harvested after 5months. Of the 14 EM fungi recovered on these seedlings, four species dominated in soils from all three sites: Laccaria laccata, a Tuber sp., Cenococcum geophilum, and a thelephoroid type. Seedlings grown in the nonsterilized soils were smaller than those growing in sterilized soils. In the second study, chestnut seedlings were grown from seed planted directly into soils at the same three sites. Seedlings with intermingling roots of established trees of various species were harvested after 5months. Seventy-one EM fungi were found on the root tips of the hosts, with 38 occurring on chestnut seedlings. Multiple versus single host EM fungi were significantly more abundant and frequently encountered. The fungi observed dominating on seedlings in the laboratory bioassay were not frequently encountered in the field bioassay, suggesting that they may not have been active in mycelial networks in the field setting but were in the soils as resistant propagules that became active in the bioassay. These results show that soil from red oak stands can be used to inoculate American chestnut with locally adapted ectomycorrhizal fungi prior to outplanting, a relatively cost effective approach for restoration efforts.

Defect-disorder and risk assessment of heritage trees in urban Hong Kong

Heritage trees in a city, echoing factors conducive to outstanding performance, deserve special care and conservation. To understand their structural and health conditions in urban Hong Kong, 30 defect-disorder (DD) symptoms (physical and physiological) subsumed under four tree-position groups (soil-root, trunk, branching, and crown-foliage) and tree hazard rating were evaluated. The surveyed 352 trees included 70 species; 14 species with 233 trees were native. More trees had medium height (10–15m), medium DBH (1–1.5m) and large crown (>15m). In ten habitats, public park and garden (PPG) accommodated the most trees, and roadside traffic island (RTI) and public housing estate (PH) had the least. Tree dimensions and tree habitats were significantly associated. The associations between the 2831 DD and tree-position groups, tree habitats and tree hazard rating were analyzed. Fourteen trees from Ficus microcarpa, Ficus virens and Gleditsia fera had high hazard rating, 179 trees from 22 species moderate rating, and 159 trees from 55 species low rating. RTI, roadside tree strip (RTS), roadside tree pit (RTP), roadside planter (RP) and stone wall (SW) had more moderate hazard rating, and PPG, roadside slope (RS) and government, institutional and community land (GIC) more low rating. Redundancy analysis showed that DD were positively correlated with RTS, RTP, RP and SW, but negatively correlated with PPG, RS and GIC (p<0.05). The DD significantly increased tree hazard rating and failure potential. Future management implications for heritage-tree conservation and enhancement focusing squarely on critical tree defect-disorder in urban Hong Kong were explored, with application to other compact cities.

Species diversity and spatial differentiation of old-valuable trees in urban Hong Kong

Heritage trees play special ecological, historical and landscape roles in cities. The officially designated old-valuable trees (OVTs) in Hong Kong, threatened by urban intensification and improper care, demand deep understanding to inform management and conservation. This study evaluated their floristic diversity, biomass structure and importance value, and spatial pattern and differentiation by districts and tree-habitats. Data analysis was assisted by detrended correspondence analysis (DCA), similarity percentage analysis (SIMPER) and other statistical tests. New indices, namely district dissimilarity index (DDI), district heterogeneity index (DHI), habitat dissimilarity index (HDI) and habitat heterogeneity index (HHI) helped to assess spatial differentiation. The 352 OVTs belonged to 70 species, 56 genera and 36 families. Ficus microcarpa dominated with maximum importance value, accompanied by only three common species. Some 22 rare and 44 solitary species denote diverse origins due to inheritance and cultivation. Moraceae and Ficus were the dominant family and genus. The oldest districts accommodated more species, trees, and unique species, whereas newer districts had notably less. DCA showed higher floristic fidelity in old districts, and three common Ficus species were ubiquitous in districts. SIMPER results showed the highest DDI and lowest DHI in the newer district. Public park and garden (PPG) habitat harbours most species, trees, and botanical uniqueness. Three Ficus species were also ubiquitous in habitats. Public housing and PPG had the highest HDI. District and habitat dissimilarities were mainly contributed by dominant and common species. Management implications with reference to preservation and enhancement of OVTs were explored, with applications for other cities.

Protecting trees through an inventory and typology: Heritage trees in the Karavanke Mountains, Slovenia

Both research and policy require a transparent approach to monitoring and managing natural and cultural heritage because landscape quality has become a key concept in landscape planning. This paper introduces an advanced approach to natural and cultural heritage inventory for the study of heritage trees. Because trees play different roles in society, different regulations apply to their preservation, which can lead to inconsistencies in records for heritages trees. The inventory of heritage trees and their types in the study area identified within the Karavanke Natura 2000 project, which is presented in this paper, is based on existing lists of heritage trees, fieldwork, and interviews. A new database of heritage trees has been established in which the advantage of geographical information systems unifying various data sources is emphasized.

私有地における容積規制緩和制度を持つシアトル市樹木保全条例とその運用

In Japanese residential zones, the housings, which have built after World War 2, 1950's to 1970's, are going to be rebuilt, recently. Some sites have important heritage trees and greens. However, the municipalities have few powers legally to protect the trees and greens, even if they have green protection ordinances, development review ordinances which has the standards related to protection of landscape, or some kinds of ordinance.So, this paper aims to identify the key points for effective tree protection ordinance as a system, through reviewing the tree protection regulations in Seattle city, Washington, USA. Seattle city is very famous as an advanced city in terms of urban planning. The research materials are the ordinances, client assistance memos, director's rules, and the documents related to the tree protection regulations published by the city. As a result of my analyzing, the effective points for the tree protection are, to do the site plan review which includes landscape plan with the environmental and the design review at the same time, to have the floor area incentives as a compensation for tree protection, and to have the detailed different standards which depends on the species, even the native and non-native species.

Multipurpose Census Methodology to Assess Urban Forest Structure in Hong Kong

Surveys of urban forests in the compact city environment of Hong Kong were initiated in 1985 and regularly updated thereafter. Roadside trees were evaluated first in a tree census and reported in this article followed by urban parks, public housing estates, and special habitats such as old stone walls or special specimens such as heritage trees. The survey method aimed at collecting comprehensive data to echo both tree conditions and tree–environmental interactions. Detailed information was gleaned, with the help of well-trained assistants, on tree sites, tree growing space, tree structure, and tree defects and disorders. A field record form was designed, pilot-tested, and refined to solicit responses to multiple choices or direct measurements to minimize subjectivity and errors in data recording and entry. The study also identified potential planting sites, registering suitability for tree growth, site characteristics, and dimensions. Data fields were designed to be quantitative or convertible to ordinal ranks to facilitate statistical analysis. Locations of trees and planting sites were marked on large-scale maps to permit spatial analysis. Besides statistical analysis, community ecology attributes and custom-designed indices were used to assess urban forest structure. The multipurpose method could be appropriately adjusted for use in other compact city areas.

Role of genomics in the potential restoration of the American chestnut

The development of genomic tools will enhance traditional tree breeding technologies leading to more certain and timely recovery of the American chestnut, a keystone heritage tree of the eastern United States. Major efforts are being made in gene discovery, genetic marker development, construction of a BAC-based physical map, and DNA transformation technology. A strategy of map-based cloning, association genetics, and genetic engineering, combined with traditional and marker-assisted backcross breeding is proposed for the long-term genetic restoration of this iconic tree species.

Restoration of threatened species: a noble cause for transgenic trees

Some of the first applications of transgenic trees in North America may be for the conservation or restoration of threatened forest trees that have been devastated by fungal pathogens or insect pests. In some cases, where resistance has yet to be found in the natural population of a tree species, incorporating genes from other organisms may offer the only hope for restoration. In others, transgenics may play a role as part of an integrated approach, along with conventional breeding or biocontrol agents. American chestnut (Castanea dentata) was wiped out as a canopy species by a fungal disease accidentally introduced into the United States around 1900. Similarly, American elm (Ulmus americana) virtually disappeared as a favored street tree from Northeastern U.S. cities after the introduction of the Dutch elm disease fungus in the 1940s. In both cases, progress has been made toward restoration via conventional techniques such as selection and propagation of tolerant cultivars (American elm) or breeding with a related resistant species (American chestnut). Recently, progress has also been made with development of systems for engineering antifungal candidate genes into these “heritage trees.” An Agrobacterium-leaf disk system has been used to produce transgenic American elm trees engineered with an antimicrobial peptide gene that may enhance resistance to Dutch elm disease. Two gene transfer systems have been developed for American chestnut using Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of embryogenic cultures, setting the stage for the first tests of potential antifungal genes for their ability to confer resistance to the chestnut blight fungus. Despite the promise of transgenic approaches for restoration of these heritage trees, a number of technical, environmental, economic, and ethical questions remain to be addressed before such trees can be deployed, and the debate around these questions may be quite different from that associated with transgenic trees developed for other purposes.

Formulaic Expert Method to Integrate Evaluation and Valuation of Heritage Trees in Compact City

Urban trees serve important environmental, social and economic functions, but similar to other natural endowments they are not customarily depicted in monetary terms. The needs to augment protection, funding and community support for urban greening call for proper valuation. Heritage trees (HTs), the cream of urban-tree stock, deserve special attention. Existing assessment methods do not give justice to outstanding trees in compact cities deficient in high-caliber greenery, and to their social-cultural-historical importance. They artificially separate evaluation from valuation, which should be a natural progression from the former. Review of tree valuation methods suggested the formula approach to be more suitable than contingent valuation and hedonic pricing, and provided hints on their strengths and weaknesses. This study develops an alternative formulaic expert method (FEM) that integrates evaluation and valuation, maximizes objectivity, broadly encompasses the key tree, tree-environment and tree-human traits, and accords realistic monetary value to HTs. Six primary criteria (dimension, species, tree, condition, location, and outstanding consideration) branched into 45 secondary criteria, each allocated numerical marks. Each primary criterion was standardized to carry equal weight, and a tree's maximum aggregate score is capped at 100. A Monetary Assignment Factor (MAF) to consign dollar value to each score unit was derived from three-year average per m(2) sale price of medium-sized residential flats. The applicability of FEM was tested on selected HTs in compact Hong Kong. The aggregate score of a tree multiplied by MAF yielded monetary value, which was on average 66 times higher than the result from the commonly-adopted Council of Tree and Landscape Appraisers method. The computed tree values could be publicized together with multiple tree benefits to raise understanding and awareness and rally support to protect HTs. The property-linked FEM could be flexibly applied to other cities, especially to assess HTs in compact developing cities.

Monitoring the performance and decline of heritage trees in urban Hong Kong

Urban trees in Hong Kong exist in stressful and harsh habitat conditions due mainly to the exceptionally high-density development mode. This study focuses on the cream of the urban tree stock, the heritage trees, which were selected according to five sets of stringent criteria: species, dimension, structure, condition, location, and special considerations. The study area covers the main urban core of the city. The loss of trees in two periods, 1993–1998 and 1999–2003, was monitored, with the predisposing and direct causes of damages ascertained as far as possible. Of the 380 heritage specimens, 54 trees were lost in the survey period. The main predisposing causes were injuries sustained in roadwork and construction activities, both related to root damage and soil disturbance. The principal direct causes were recent gradual decline and abrupt demise due to typhoon breakage. Three pairs of contributing variables registered statistically significant associations ( χ 2 test), namely predisposing cause versus direct cause, tree growth form versus direct cause, and survey period versus direct cause. Principal component analysis identified three factors that explained 70% of the variance, namely tree form, tree stature, and growth environment. The main reasons for the high mortality were explored. The possible applications of the findings to improve tree protection and management were discussed in relation to the overall planning for meritorious greenery and green space especially in compact cities.

Outstanding remnants of nature in compact cities: patterns and preservation of heritage trees in Guangzhou city (China)

Heritage trees (HTs) play pertinent ecological-landscaping roles in cities, yet the few known studies are mainly descriptive or resource inventories. This paper explores the intertwined natural and cultural spatial associations between trees (species, dimensions and age) and city (landscape impact, urban fabric, district history and landuse), assessing the integrated city–tree complex at the macro-scale. The study area includes eight main built-up districts (covering 116 km 2) of Guangzhou, a compact and major city in South China. A survey of historical and inventory records identified 348 HTs which encompass the city’s officially recognized HTs. Principal component analysis (PCA), Jaccard Index of Similarity (JIS), and other statistical tests helped to unravel spatial associations. The 25 HT species, compared to 254 species in the city’s entire urban forest, are dominated by four common species. The number of HTs increases with district age of 25–2500 years. The more stressful and cramped roadside habitat accommodates more HTs, followed by spacious park, and intra-lot interstitial spaces in education, government-institution, and religious sites. The HTs are dominated by the 100–200-year age bracket, with few older trees, indicating a generation gap and the inability of old districts to preserve older trees. Park and religious sites accommodate more of the oldest and largest trees. Roadside contains more wide-crown trees mainly due to effective protection from motor vehicles by the inner bicycle lane. District is indicated by JIS as the major determinant of species variations, with landuse playing a secondary role. Large trees polarise into normal and degraded tree forms due to physical site constraints. Tall-wide and short-wide tree forms with high landscape impact contribution dominate landscape impacts. PCA extracted three factors that explained 71.9% of the variations, namely age–dimension, potential growth, and district history. Increasing compactness and the present management regime may fail to sustain the HT stock and deprive the city of HT precursors. The concept of ecological brinkmanship and transgenerational arboriculture are proposed to enhance HT conservation.

Evaluation of heritage trees for conservation and management in Guangzhou City (China).

The recent fast pace of urbanization in China and other developing countries has exerted pressure on urban trees, which constitute a key urban environmental asset. The most outstanding trees should be treated as natural-cum-cultural heritage. Guangzhou City's growth has threatened its rich urban-tree endowment, a diversified assemblage of 200,000 trees represented by 254 species and located in three major habitats: roadside, park, and institutional grounds. Mainly based on age and performance, 348 trees were officially designated as heritage specimens. They were evaluated in the field for tree dimensions, habitat, performance, and landscape contribution, to establish enhanced conservation and management strategies. With only 25 species, heritage trees were dominated by five cultivated natives and encompass some of the city's rare species; some common urban-forest species were not represented. Older districts and roadside habitats, despite their compact town plan and limited growing space, had the largest tree dimensions and largest share of heritage trees. Many heritage trees were large with long life expectancy and the potential for biomass expansion, and had pivotal cityscape impacts where they occur. Old neighborhoods, traditional haven for the arborescent treasure, are being changed by construction activities and periodic typhoon and windstorm damages. Increasing development density could degrade the heritage trees and their growing space, and reduce tree quality and life span. Upgrading the statutory-administrative systems and arboricultural care can enhance long-term survival of the precious natural-cum-cultural heritage. The experience of Guangzhou in identifying and preserving its high-quality urban trees can provide management strategies for other cities.