Climate change endangers the health and survival of urban trees

People and the environment benefit from green areas in cities.

According to recent research, climate change affects the health and survival of urban trees, with more than half of species already feeling the heat.

Climate change has put more than 1,000 tree species at danger, including city oaks, maples, poplars, elms, pines, and chestnuts.

Scientists seek enhanced protection for existing trees and the planting of drought-resistant types.

Trees give shade and cooling, making cities more livable.

Many trees in metropolitan areas are already stressed as a result of climate change, and as it grows warmer and drier, the number of species at danger will grow, according to Manuel Esperon-Rodriguez of Western Sydney University in Penrith, Australia.

City and street trees may boost physical and mental health, help in social integration, and lessen the impacts of temperature increases, which he experienced during the epidemic.

“All of these advantages are mostly delivered by large mature trees, so we need to ensure that what we are planting now will reach that point where they can offer all of those benefits for future generations,” he told BBC News.

London was one of five UK cities analysed.

The researchers utilised the Global Urban Tree Inventory, a database that records over 4,000 distinct trees and shrubs planted in 164 cities across 78 nations, to analyse the expected effect of global warming on trees planted along roadways and in parks.

More than half of the tree species in the 164 cities studied are already threatened owing to increasing temperatures and changes in rainfall. This share is expected to increase to more than two-thirds by 2050.

Climate risk for species in urban environments is especially severe in tropical cities and fragile nations such as India, Niger, Nigeria, and Togo.

The researchers looked at five cities in the United Kingdom: Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, London, and York.

They discovered that drier weather caused by climate change is predicted to have a significant effect on trees, notably in York, London, and Birmingham.

This study was published in the journal Nature Climate Change.