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Forest Service U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Northern Research Station | General Technical Report NRS-203 | July 2021 CLIMATE ADAPTATION ACTIONS FOR URBAN FORESTS AND HUMAN HEALTH Abstract Urban areas can be particularly vulnerable to climate change due to extensive impervious cover, increased pollution, greater human population densities, and a concentration of built structures that intensify impacts from urban heat, drought, and extreme weather. Urban residents are at risk from a variety of climate stressors, which can cause both physical and mental harm. Urban forests and tree cover provide a critical role in helping cities address climate change by supporting greenhouse gas mitigation, reducing the impacts of extreme heat and altered climate that impair human health, and helping communities to adaptively respond through engagement with nature. At the same time, urban forests are vulnerable to changes in climate and in need of robust strategies to adapt to those changes. As climate change impacts increase, efforts to “green” cities and adapt urban forests to changing conditions take on greater importance to support human health and well-being. Urban forest managers and allied professionals are looking for information to reduce climate risks to urban forests and secure their benefits for people and ecosystems. This report, Climate Adaptation Actions for Urban Forests and Human Health, synthesizes adaptation actions to address climate change in urban forest management and promote human health and well-being through nature-based solutions. It compiles and organizes information from a wide range of peer- reviewed research and evidence-based reports on climate change adaptation, urban forest management, carbon sequestration and storage, and human health response to urban nature. This report includes the Urban Forest Climate and Health Adaptation Menu, which presents information and ideas for optimizing the climate and human health outcomes of urban forestry projects and provides professionals who are working at the intersection of climate, public health, and urban forestry with resources to support climate adaptation planning and activities. Notably, it does not provide specific recommendations or guidance for any particular place; rather, it offers a range of action opportunities at different scales that can be incorporated into either comprehensive or specific climate adaptation initiatives. The Menu can be used with an existing, tested adaptation process to help managers consider climate risks and explore the benefits and drawbacks of potential adaptation actions within the context of a particular situation or project. It also can be useful for generating productive discussions about community needs and values to guide planning, education and outreach, research, or changes in policy or infrastructure within communities. This publication was previously released as a postprint after undergoing technical and policy review. This final version includes a completed layout, changes to wording and grammar, and limited corrections to content. The most current version of the publication will always be available from the Digital Object Identifier (DOI): https://doi.org/10.2737/NRS-GTR-203. The use of trade, firm, corporation, or program names in this publication is for the information and convenience of the reader. Such use does not constitute an official endorsement or approval by the U.S. Department of Agriculture or the Forest Service of any product or service to the exclusion of others that may be suitable. Manuscript received for publication 26 April 2021 Published by: USDA FOREST SERVICE ONE GIFFORD PINCHOT DRIVE MADISON, WI 53726 Visit our homepage at https://nrs.fs.fed.us July 2021 CLIMATE ADAPTATION ACTIONS FOR URBAN FORESTS AND HUMAN HEALTH Maria K. Janowiak, Leslie A. Brandt, Kathleen L. Wolf, Mattison Brady, Lindsay Darling, Abigail Derby Lewis, Robert T. Fahey, Kristen Giesting, Eboni Hall, Molly Henry, Maisie Hughes, Jason W. Miesbauer, Kailey Marcinkowski, Todd Ontl, Annamarie Rutledge, Lydia Scott, and Christopher W. Swanston About the Authors Maria K. Janowiak is the deputy director of the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science with the USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station, 410 MacInnes Drive, Houghton, MI 49931, [email protected]. Leslie A. Brandt is a climate change specialist with the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science, USDA Forest Service, Eastern Region, 1992 Folwell Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55108, [email protected]. Kathleen L. Wolf is a research social scientist with the College of the Environment, School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Box 352100, Seattle WA 98195, [email protected]. Mattison Brady is a student climate change adaptation specialist with the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science and Michigan Technological University, 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, MI 49931, [email protected]. Lindsay Darling is a geographic information systems administrator with the Morton Arboretum, 4100 Illinois Route 53, Lisle, IL 60532, [email protected]. Abigail Derby Lewis is director of the conservation tools program in the Keller Science Action Center at the Field Museum of Natural History, 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605, [email protected]. Robert T. Fahey is an assistant professor at the University of Connecticut, Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, and the Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering, 1376 Storrs Road, Storrs, CT 06269, [email protected]. Kristen Giesting is a soil conservationist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, 1333 East Liberty Circle, Greensburg, IN 47240, [email protected]. Eboni Hall is the senior manager of urban forestry education at American Forests, 1220 L St NW, Suite 750, Washington, D.C. 20005, [email protected]. Molly Henry is the senior manager of climate and health at American Forests, embedded in Division of Forest Environment at the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, 235 Promenade St, Suite 394, Providence, RI 02908, [email protected]. Maisie Hughes is the senior director of urban forestry at American Forests, 1220 L St NW, Suite 750, Washington, D.C. 20005, [email protected]. Jason W. Miesbauer is an arboriculture scientist with the Morton Arboretum, 4100 Illinois Route 53, Lisle, IL 60532, [email protected]. Kailey Marcinkowski is a climate change education specialist with the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science and Michigan Technological University, 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, MI, 49931, [email protected]. Todd Ontl is a climate change adaptation specialist with the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science and Michigan Technological University, 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, MI, 49931, [email protected]. Annamarie Rutledge is a climate change outreach specialist with the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science and Michigan Technological University, 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, MI 49931, [email protected]. Lydia Scott is director of the Chicago Region Trees Initiative, located at the Morton Arboretum, 4100 Illinois Route 53, Lisle, IL 60532, [email protected]. Christopher W. Swanston is a research ecologist with the USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station, the director of the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science, and the director of the USDA Northern Forests Climate Hub, 410 MacInnes Drive, Houghton, MI 49931, [email protected] Acknowledgments Many individuals contributed to the guidance, review, and editing of this document. We would first like to extend our thanks to the authors of the first forest and urban forest menus upon which this work is based: Angela (Kerber) Levernier of Dupage County, Illinois; and Stephen Handler, Patricia Butler-Leopold, and Danielle Shannon of the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science. We express gratitude to Sarah Hines, Sarah Hurteau, and Natalie van Doorn for the insightful and productive feedback in reviewing this document. We also are grateful to the hundreds of managers who have demonstrated the practical application of earlier iterations of our adaptation products, as well as the Rhode Island Urban Forests for Climate and Health Stakeholder Group, who helped us formulate this new menu of actions. This work would not be possible without their interest and feedback. The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation provided generous support to this project as part of a broader investment to optimize urban forests for climate and public health outcomes. Cover image created by Kailey Marcinkowski using USDA photo by Lance Cheung. Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 1 What Is The Urban Forest Climate and Health Menu? ................................................................................................................................4 An Adaptation Planning Process .......................................................................................................................................................................5 How to Read this Menu ........................................................................................................................................................................................7 Description of Menu Items ......................................................................................................................................................................................
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