Growing ‘Climate Ready’ Urban Trees

In an article for Route Fifty, Kaitlyn Levinson reminds readers that planting trees is only part of the equation when it comes to boosting urban tree canopies, creating shade, and cooling city sidewalks.

Urban trees also need to be resilient to weather, climate risks, and other factors for the long term. A new program at New Mexico’s Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD), the Climate Ready Trees Program, “aims to help officials identify which tree types will most likely withstand New Mexico’s changing climate so they can be incorporated into future urban landscapes.”

The program will use long-range data gained from tree seedlings to understand which trees fare best in varying local conditions. The seedlings can be adopted by schools, libraries, and other institutions. “Participants are required to maintain the trees on their properties in demonstration gardens and submit an annual tree performance survey to the Forestry Division so officials can track the tree growth process.”