We still don't have all of the information we need to make perfect decisions about which trees will thrive in future climates. That shouldn't stop us from making the best choices we can to select species that will do well in the future. This seminar will discuss two different tools from different cities to help us understand processes for tree selection.
City of Melbourne
The City of Melbourne and University of Melbourne have done some work using climate analogues to help select tree species for future climates. While the process isn't perfect, and has undergone scrutiny (see assigned reading), it is worth testing and exploring. Much of this work, and the exercise below was developed by Dr. Dave Kendal.
Step One is to find a climate analogue for your city. This tool from CSIRO will help:
1. Choose a city or town in Australia (Today we will choose Richmond, Victoria which is in the City of Yarra). Choose your emissions scenario (the world is currently tracking closest to RCP 8.5), select your time frame, select your description.
2. This should suggest a few analogue cities. Remember to think about other factors, such as urban heat, temperature extremes, seasonal weather, etc. that may impact tree survival. These can be included in the projection using the small double arrows at the top right corner of the map.
Spend 10 minutes testing and exploring this tool.
Step Two is to find trees that are thriving in the analogue community. There are a number of ways to do this:
1. Google search - the city/town name and "street tree"
2. Find a local government recommended list
3. Look up the Atlas of Living Australia (ALA): https://www.ala.org.au/ GLinks to an external site.o to the government and land managers tab, then spend time exploring which plants are found in the region and where. You can Zoom in, select by plant type, and see what is growing in regions across Australia. The species with highest number of records in a region are the ones to look out for.
Spend 15 minutes searching for 5 tree species for your chosen town (Richmond, Victoria, Australia).
Step Three is to compare our findings.
Questions to consider:
Where else do these trees grow in the world?
What are specific needs of street trees that would factor into decision-making?
How might this method work in your community?
Metro Vancouver
The Metro Vancouver regional government has created a climate adapted tree list and guiding documents to support decision-making across the region. We will spend some time using their materials. The process was similar to using climate analogues, and has evolved to include arborist and nursery input.
Step Oneis to find climate impacts for your area.
1. Use PCIC climate explorer: https://www.pacificclimate.org/analysis-tools/pcic-climate-explorerLinks to an external site. to find out climate impacts for your future community. Zoom into your community, and then spend some time exploring different variables. I suggest starting in the single variable tab, choosing PCIC12 model, Historical then RCP 8.5, then 5 year annual daily maximum temperature. What does this tell you about tree species?