URBAN FORESTRY RESEARCH: THE FOREST SERVICE PERSPECTIVE

In 1991, the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) conducted a National Assessment of research needs and priorities in urban forestry. Using the findings of this Assessment, the USDA Forest Service is planning and implementing its research program to meet the needs identi- fied by the ISA effort. Due to the comprehensive nature of the ISA research needs list, it will be several years before all needs can be addressed by public and private urban forestry research entities. Therefore, the USDA Forest Service has focused on selected needs that the agency can address within its current funding and staffing constraints. In addition to direct research, the USDA Forest Service is also involved in supportive and cooperative efforts including: the ISA Research Trust, American Forests, and several other urban forestry oriented institutions. As a reference point, urban forests include forested and vegetated open-space areas along a broad range of locations. These locations range from city centers extending out to areas now considered on the wildland-urban interface. Typically, wildland-urban .interface areas are thought of as involving wildland locations that are within a one-hour drive from a metropolitan cen- ter. Using these parameters, the urban forests occupy a significant portion of the landscape. It has been estimated that urban forests in the United States include close to 70 million acres (17). This represents a total area which is over one-third the size of the entire National Forest System. Total economic value for urban forests is esti- mated at 50 billion dollars. Street trees alone account for 30 billion dollars of value (16). In just considering economic value, urban forests justify an important area of research. This is particularly true when one considers that the average life span of the urban forest tree is only 32 years (16).