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Dying trees in cities? Blame it on the pavement

Date:
March 4, 2019
Source:
North Carolina State University
Summary:
A new study of urban tree life in the Southeast shows pavement and concrete may have a bigger effect than longitudinal warming.
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A North Carolina State University study examining urbanization, scale-insect abundance and latitudinal warming on tree health in the Southeast captured a few surprising results.

The study showed more scale insects on red maple trees in the midrange of eight cities within a 10-degree latitudinal difference, from Newark, Delaware, to Gainesville, Florida.

Cities in that midrange, including Raleigh and Asheville, showed poorer tree health, due mostly to these high volumes of tree-destroying gloomy scale insects (Melanaspis tenebricosa), which appear as tiny bumps on tree branches and leaves.

"Impervious surfaces -- basically concrete and pavement -- near trees was a better predictor of scale-insect abundance than temperature, and thus a better predictor of poor tree health in the study area," said Michael Just, an NC State postdoctoral entomology researcher and corresponding author of a paper describing the research.

The finding was surprising, Just said, as the study's original hypothesis predicted higher scale-insect abundance at lower latitudes -- the study's southernmost areas.

"What we've learned over the years in natural areas like forests didn't translate in this study, which means we may need to consider if other natural-system theories can be used in urban areas," Just said. "That's important if we want to have reliable predictive ecological models."


Story Source:

Materials provided by North Carolina State University. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Michael G. Just, Adam G. Dale, Lawrence C. Long, Steven D. Frank. Urbanization drives unique latitudinal patterns of insect herbivory and tree condition. Oikos, 2019; DOI: 10.1111/oik.05874

Cite This Page:

North Carolina State University. "Dying trees in cities? Blame it on the pavement." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 4 March 2019. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/03/190304140852.htm>.
North Carolina State University. (2019, March 4). Dying trees in cities? Blame it on the pavement. ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 7, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/03/190304140852.htm
North Carolina State University. "Dying trees in cities? Blame it on the pavement." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/03/190304140852.htm (accessed December 7, 2024).

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