Benefits of large trees in urban environments

Large trees play an essential role in sustaining biodiversity and bird life in urban environments, claims an Australian National University study reported in Canberra Weekly (16 February 2012).

Research by doctorate student Karen Stagoll in the Fenner School of Environment and Society on large eucalyptus trees in small suburban parks in the nation’s capital, Canberra is the first of its kind in the world. Eucalyptus trees are native to Australia and, due to their abundance, were a prime choice of subject. The research shows that large trees in urban environments provide habitats critical for wildlife—birds and animals.

Large trees provide food, nesting sites, and shelter for wildlife in agricultural and forestry landscapes. However, large trees, as opposed to smaller trees, shrubs, and low-lying vegetation, do the same in urban environments. Hence, large trees attract wildlife to urban areas. Stagoll’s research found that urban parks and gardens with more large eucalypts accommodated more bird species and higher bird numbers, including more native woodland-dependent birds, than parks with only small trees. The research also found that some bird species declining in Canberra were also attracted to urban parks with large trees, and that they were more likely to breed.

Therefore losing trees from urban areas and cities may have future ecological consequences for wildlife conservation.

In Canberra, the capital of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) provides legislation to protect large trees, but Stagoll thinks the measures may not be enough. Her research found that 14% of trees studied were significantly important for birds, but were omitted from formal protection under the current legislation. It is therefore likely, she concludes, that similar trees, and the wildlife they attract, may be at risk in other cities in Australia, and globally.

Because it can take decades for newly planted saplings to grow into large trees, strategies and actions to plant and sustain them within city limits need to be considered now, and not left until it’s too late.

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