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2021 (1)

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Dissertation
Finding Climate Resilient Urban Tree Species for Flanders

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Abstract

Urban populations are growing worldwide, also in Flanders. These urban populations will suffer most from the effects of climate change and the Urban Heat Island. As one of the most urbanized regions in the world, these effects are of great concern to the people of Flanders. But increasing amounts of heat waves and dry spells will not only have an impact on the vitality of human urban inhabitants, but on urban trees as well. Trees already have a lot of challenges to overcome to be able to survive in urban areas. But trees that are planted in urban areas now or in the near future will have to be able to survive in the future urban climate of Flanders. This thesis is dedicated to evaluating the climate resilience of urban tree species. To construct a list of potentially climate resilient urban tree species and traditional urban tree species, different actors of the urban green sector in Flanders were contacted. These actors were urban green managers, tree nurseries and different research institutions. Each of these actors put forward a list of potentially climate resilient urban tree species. These lists were constructed based on experience, species ecology and natural species distribution. The results show that especially Mediterranean species with small leaves show great potential as climate resilient urban trees. Although the qualitative assessment of tree species provided a useful list of potentially climate resilient urban tree species, the quantitative analysis proved necessary. Some of the species on the potentially climate resilient species list showed not to be climate resilient after the quantitative analysis. The collaboration of the researcher with the actors in the practical field of the subject proved to be very useful to both parties. The current landscape of climate resilient trees, or “climate trees” as they are called, is going through a metamorphosis. Different institutions are working around the subject in isolation, using different techniques and terms to study and discuss the same subject. These semantic discrepancies might cause confusion and miscommunication. A unification of semantics and methodology is prompted, so that all actors can contribute efficiently to the common goal of creating liveable urban areas for present and future generations.

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