Indicators of Urban Forest Condition in New Orleans

Abstract

Urban trees constitute a valuable environmental resource in many cities. Designing a tree maintenance and management strategy depends upon an understanding of the environments of urban trees and stresses on tree health and condition. Using New Orleans, Louisiana as an example, environmental indicators of tree condition are identified using data from sample inventory of trees. Tree condition is related to the types of land covers in the zone of root growth under the tree canopy, the presence of wires in the tree canopy and associated land uses. The inventory also shows that the New Orleans urban forest is a mature forest, which suggests special care is needed in order to protect and replenish the resource, this information can be used to plan urban forestry management strategies in New Orleans.