Photo credit: Friends of the Urban Forest

Survival Is Not Enough was a 4-month collaborative research project to analyze the growth and survival of San Francisco’s three most common street trees. Leading a team of volunteers and research assistants, I sampled more than 400 individual trees across three microclimate zones in San Francisco, finding a overall survival rate of over 70% but with distinct and varied health and vigor across climate zone. The findings provide valuable information to urban foresters for micro-site climate variability and for selecting appropriate species maximize street tree canopy benefits while maintaining urban canopy diversity.

Read the full study here, published in 2016 in the Journal of Urban Forestry and Urban Greening.