{"title":"Rising temperatures will make Miami’s street life even more exotic","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.ufug.2024.128502","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Species in humid, tropical regions frequently experience dangerously high heat. The danger of high temperatures is especially pronounced in cities due to the urban heat island effect. Trees can greatly reduce surface temperatures and mitigate the urban heat island effect through evapotranspiration and by reflecting solar radiation before it is absorbed by impervious surfaces. However, trees may also be physiologically susceptible to the effects of climate change as high temperatures exceed their physiological limits. In this study, we assessed how the urban tree community in subtropical Miami (Florida, USA) will be impacted by climate warming and how impacts will differ between native and exotic tree species. We calculated the thermal safety margin (TSM) in Miami for each of 235 tree species as the difference between the maximum temperature experienced by a species within its range and the current and future (2100) projected maximum temperature in the city. We also combined TSMs, a metric of resilience to heat, with each species’ drought, wind, and salt tolerance to identify species that are resilient to multiple relevant stressors. We found that by 2100 Miami will be too hot for 16–41 % of the tree species currently planted in the city, depending on the climate change scenario. Native tree species will be disproportionately impacted compared to exotics, likely because most exotic species originate in the tropics, whereas most species native to Miami are primarily subtropical or temperate. The species that are more resilient to multiple stressors include mostly native species, several of which are ideal shade trees. Urban greening initiatives should carefully consider tree plantings to optimize the long-term health of urban tree communities and the services that they can provide to cities in the future.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49394,"journal":{"name":"Urban Forestry & Urban Greening","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.0000,"publicationDate":"2024-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Urban Forestry & Urban Greening","FirstCategoryId":"93","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1618866724003005","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Species in humid, tropical regions frequently experience dangerously high heat. The danger of high temperatures is especially pronounced in cities due to the urban heat island effect. Trees can greatly reduce surface temperatures and mitigate the urban heat island effect through evapotranspiration and by reflecting solar radiation before it is absorbed by impervious surfaces. However, trees may also be physiologically susceptible to the effects of climate change as high temperatures exceed their physiological limits. In this study, we assessed how the urban tree community in subtropical Miami (Florida, USA) will be impacted by climate warming and how impacts will differ between native and exotic tree species. We calculated the thermal safety margin (TSM) in Miami for each of 235 tree species as the difference between the maximum temperature experienced by a species within its range and the current and future (2100) projected maximum temperature in the city. We also combined TSMs, a metric of resilience to heat, with each species’ drought, wind, and salt tolerance to identify species that are resilient to multiple relevant stressors. We found that by 2100 Miami will be too hot for 16–41 % of the tree species currently planted in the city, depending on the climate change scenario. Native tree species will be disproportionately impacted compared to exotics, likely because most exotic species originate in the tropics, whereas most species native to Miami are primarily subtropical or temperate. The species that are more resilient to multiple stressors include mostly native species, several of which are ideal shade trees. Urban greening initiatives should carefully consider tree plantings to optimize the long-term health of urban tree communities and the services that they can provide to cities in the future.
期刊介绍:
Urban Forestry and Urban Greening is a refereed, international journal aimed at presenting high-quality research with urban and peri-urban woody and non-woody vegetation and its use, planning, design, establishment and management as its main topics. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening concentrates on all tree-dominated (as joint together in the urban forest) as well as other green resources in and around urban areas, such as woodlands, public and private urban parks and gardens, urban nature areas, street tree and square plantations, botanical gardens and cemeteries.
The journal welcomes basic and applied research papers, as well as review papers and short communications. Contributions should focus on one or more of the following aspects:
-Form and functions of urban forests and other vegetation, including aspects of urban ecology.
-Policy-making, planning and design related to urban forests and other vegetation.
-Selection and establishment of tree resources and other vegetation for urban environments.
-Management of urban forests and other vegetation.
Original contributions of a high academic standard are invited from a wide range of disciplines and fields, including forestry, biology, horticulture, arboriculture, landscape ecology, pathology, soil science, hydrology, landscape architecture, landscape planning, urban planning and design, economics, sociology, environmental psychology, public health, and education.