Landscape Architect Articles

Have You Emailed Your Tree Lately? 07-16-15 | News

Have You Emailed Your Tree Lately?
Melbourne Canopy Monitor

The Melbourne Urban Forest Visual map https://melbourneurbanforestvisual.com.au/ color codes the life expectancy of its urban forest canopy"?ueucalyptus, oaks, plane, elms, Corymbia, Acacia, Allocasuarina, ficus, Melaleuca and Angophora. Green = >20 years, healthy; light green = <20 years, at risk; light orange = <10 years, declining; and orange = <5 years, dying.

The city of Melbourne, Australia maintains more than 70,000 trees. The city reports that many of those trees are "approaching the end of their useful life due to a combination of age and the combined stresses of extended drought, extreme heat and water restrictions."

Currently, about 35 percent of Melbourne's trees are planes, elms or Red River gums. About half the city elms and 37% of the plane trees have a life expectancy of less than 10 years. Myrtle rust and sycamore lace bug are threats to the eucalyptus, Corymbia and Platanus genera.

To counter the aging tree population, the city has an urban forest strategy that includes doubling the canopy cover and diversity by 2040 by planting around 3,000 trees a year, improving tree health, soil moisture and water quality and informing and consulting with the community. Also, Tree diversification is a basic tenet of the program, as a greater range of species will provide greater resilience and long-term stability for the forest.

The city has assigned I.D. numbers to the tree. To engage the community, the Melbourne Urban Forest Visual map (above) allows people to click on any of the 70,000 trees. When they do, the tree's I.D. number, species and life expectancy are displayed, along with an "email this tree" button. Clicking the button opens an email to melbourneurbanforest@melbourne.vic.gov.au with the tree species and I.D. number in the subject line, easily allowing residents to relate a problem with a particular tree. Interestingly, many people are not emailing to report a maintenance issue, but to show their appreciation for what the trees bring to the community.