UMass Amherst Researchers Map Chicopee’s Urban Forest

Landscape architecture researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have launched a five-year study of trees in residential yards and tree belts in Chicopee, to paint a more complete picture of the city’s treescape. Supported by state and federal initiatives, Chicopee, Springfield, Holyoke and other cities across the commonwealth have undertaken tree-planting projects. 

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The research will help to gauge the success of those efforts and make the urban forest more resilient to climate change. Led by Robert Ryan, professor of landscape architecture and regional planning at UMass Amherst, graduate and undergraduate students have spent the summer cataloging the number and species of trees in seven neighborhoods across the city. They hope to complete the first phase of their fieldwork in the coming weeks, then analyze their data this fall and return to Chicopee next year to conduct sidewalk interviews with residents. 

“We’re looking at the diversity of the urban tree canopy — large shade trees versus smaller flowering trees — and differences between neighborhoods and whether those differences are based on the age of the neighborhood, demographics or housing stock,” Ryan says. “Many trees in urban areas are on private property, so if you’re trying to create a cooler city, a greener city, you have to work with residents as well as public officials to increase the tree canopy.” 

Biodiversity is particularly important, Ryan notes, because insect infestations and blights, ranging from the emerald ash borer to Dutch elm disease, have decimated urban treescapes through the years. Planting varying species of trees contributes to a more resilient urban forest that can withstand disease, pests and a warming climate. 

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The research team hopes to expand its work to other cities in the coming years. They will also be comparing their findings to those of a similar survey conducted this summer in Uppsala, Sweden, led by Theodore Eisenman, associate professor of landscape architecture and regional planning at UMass Amherst. 

“In the end, we want to make the urban forest more resilient to climate change,” Ryan adds. “To do that, it’s essential to understand what’s there now and what do people want.” The research is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s McIntire-Stennis Cooperative Forestry Research Program through the Center for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment at UMass Amherst.*

 

*This material is based upon work supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Cranberry Station at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, under project number MAS00614. The contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the USDA or NIFA.