Developing a composite indicator to prioritize tree planting and protection locations.

Area of Science:

• Urban forestry
• Environmental science
• Public health

Background:

• Trees offer vital ecosystem services for human health.
• Current urban tree management schemes are often localized and planting-centric.
• A need exists for nationally consistent yet locally relevant tree prioritization strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel framework for a composite tree priority planting or protection index (PPI).
• To integrate environmental, tree, and human demographic data for strategic urban greening.
• To support decision-making in optimizing tree planting and management locations across the U.S.

Main Methods:

• Constructed a framework integrating environmental, tree, and human demographic data.
• Developed a composite indicator, the tree priority planting or protection index (PPI).
• Applied the framework in a New York City case study using census block group data and spatial statistics.

Main Results:

• Tree priority patterns significantly varied based on different objectives and indicators used.
• Increased indicator complexity in PPIs led to more diverse priority patterns.
• Disaggregating PPIs revealed the specific contributions of individual indicators.

Conclusions:

• The proposed PPI framework offers a nationally consistent and locally relevant approach to urban tree management.
• The framework supports strategic optimization of tree planting and protection efforts for enhanced ecosystem services.
• This approach has broad implications for urban forestry research, policy, and public engagement.