Prioritizing Management Strategies in Washington DC Urban Forests

Urban areas occupy 3% of the land area across the United States and 82% of the US population lives within these regions. As these cities grow, a greater understanding of the ecological and cultural value of urban vegetation is needed to foster effective management and protection guided by science rather than socioeconomic factors. Data collected by Washington DC urban foresters was used to identify patterns of pest/disease vulnerability and street tree diversity in regions of the District for the optimization of management decisions. An assessment of localized pest vulnerability, genus and species diversity, and patterns of overabundance of individual genera or species was conducted at two spatial scales. Also, an overall assessment of the District and its wards was completed. The results indicated localized pest vulnerability and street tree data provide a useful way to illustrate areas of the District’s pest and host vulnerabilities to optimize urban forester managerial decisions.