Water as a Limiting Factor in the Development of Urban Trees

Abstract

Trees growing in urban and forest situations experience internal water stress. Water may be a significant growth limiting factor in both situations. Supply and demand considerations, such as the reservoir of water in urban soils and the atmospheric factors which regulate demand, are important. Urban foresters may play an important role in managing water deficits through timely irrigation and species selection. The differential responses of tree taxa to internal water stress makes species selection critical in managing urban trees. Yet the lack of comprehensive experimental observations of tree response to drought in cities makes this difficult.