Role of biodiversity and landscape characteristics in sustainable urban forest planning and management

Resilience of an ecosystem is a function of biodiversity at many scales: genes, species, and regional diversity among ecosystems. However, information on the effect of landscape pattern and tree diversity on the health condition of plant populations in the urban forest is inadequate. This study investigated the effect of variation and patterns in landscape and tree characteristics on the forest health condition in an urban setting. Data on tree species and their health conditions were collected via a complete tree inventory from Centennial Park (36° 8\u27 45.1962 Latitude -86° 48\u27 31.485 Longitude) located in the city of Nashville, Tennessee. Secondary data on variation and patterns within the landscape study site were collected using a GIS dataset from USDA Gateway. Using ecological biodiversity indices, variation and patterns in landscape characteristics, the project developed a model to predict and identify a threshold value of landscape characteristics and tree planting diversity that could be used to guide future tree planting in urban settings. Using a multiple regression analysis, it was found that diameter at breast height (DBH) (p ≤ 0.001) and equitability biodiversity index (p = 0.001) had very significant impacts on the health condition of trees in the urban forest. It was also found that the elevation (p = 0.031) had a significant effect on the health condition of the Centennial Park tree population. The information gathered at Centennial Park will contribute to the body of knowledge on planting diversity and other landscape characteristic effects on tree health conditions in the urban forest