Publication
Title
Foliar optical traits indicate that sealed planting conditions negatively affect urban tree health
Author
Abstract
Urban trees play a key role in mitigating environmental problems in cities, but they often face harsh environmental conditions as they generally grow in sealed soils that have small rooting space and low water availability. In this context, rapid monitoring and assessment of tree health status is critical to maintain urban trees and secure the provisioning of urban ecosystem services. Across three European cities we selected 187 Tilia tomentosa trees growing under following planting conditions: (i) sealed, trees planted in small soil pits or strips surrounded by highly sealed surfaces (concrete, pavement or asphalt); and (ii) unsealed, trees planted in roomy soil surfaces (e.g. parks). We measured leaf reflectance and fluorescence and derived a set of optical traits from the measurements. We examined whether these non-destructively measured optical traits differ between planting conditions and whether they correlate with leaf functional traits, e.g. specific leaf area (SLA), leaf water content (LWC) and leaf water per area (LWA). Compared to the unsealed trees, sealed trees showed decreased SLA and LWC while increased LWA. Leaf optical traits differed between the unsealed and sealed trees. Highly sealed soils accelerated leaf senescence of the sealed trees compared to the unsealed trees, embodied in the temporal trend of optical traits. Sealed planting conditions negatively affect urban tree health status and phenology. These negative effects can be estimated by leaf optical traits, demonstrating the great potential of optical traits in assessing tree health status. Our findings provide insights into facilitating urban green management using optical traits and remote sensing data.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Ecological indicators. - Amsterdam
Publication
Amsterdam : 2018
ISSN
1470-160X
DOI
10.1016/J.ECOLIND.2018.08.047
Volume/pages
95 (2018) , p. 895-906
ISI
000456907400088
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (open access)
UAntwerpen
Publication type
Subject
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 02.01.2024
Last edited 20.08.2024
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