Gainesville's Urban Forest Structure and Composition

Abstract

The urban forest provides a community numerous benefits (Escobedo et al. 2011). The urban forest is composed of a mix of native and non-native species introduced by people managing this forest and by residents (Zhao et al. 2010). Because they usually contain non-native species, many urban forests often have greater species diversity than forests in the surrounding natural landscapes (Blood et al. 2016). This fact sheet overviews the composition and structure of the urban forest found in Gainesville, Florida. For our purposes, the urban forest includes all trees on public and private properties within Gainesville’s city limits. In the past, data collection focused on street trees and trees in public parks, but to fully understand the complexity of Gainesville’s urban forest structure, data was collected by sampling 93 one-tenth-acre field plots during 2006. For the trees in these plots we measured trunk diameter at breast height (DBH), species, height, crown characteristics, location, and, when appropriate, distance and direction relative to residential buildings. The data were analyzed using USDA Forest Service’s Urban Forest Effects (UFORE) model (http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/tools/ufore/). This information can provide details to urban foresters, residents, and planners to better manage this resource.