How much to manage? Management intensity steers the fate of urban forest restoration

In 1984, New York City adopted a city-wide program to promote native forest regeneration, focusing on invaded canopy gaps lacking native tree regeneration. The city removed invasive plants and planted native trees in the resulting clearings. After initial restoration, work crews visited some areas for follow up maintenance, but other restoration sites received little to no attention. This study tests differences among the different sites 15-20 years after restoration was initiated. Results show that management effort over time positively affects long-term community composition toward native-dominated, regenerating, multi-strata forest, and supports the hypothesis that consistent effort over time is important for the success of urban forest restoration efforts.  

In a nutshell, this resource offers:

• A description of forest restoration efforts by New York City Parks and Recreation Department.
• Sampling design and methodology for determining the efficacy of management following forest restoration.

How to use this resource:

• As a citation to justify the need for urban forested natural area management.
• As support for sustained funding over time for urban forested natural area management.

Author: Lea R. Johnson and Steven N. Handel

Date published: 2019

Point of contact:  Lea R. Johnson, Associate Director of Land Stewardship and Ecology at Longwood Gardens, ljohnson@longwoodgardens.org 

Citation: Johnson, L. R., Handel, S. N. 2019. Management intensity steers the long-term fate of ecological restoration in urban woodlands. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening. Vol 41, pp 85-92.

Resource is available online here.