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SCIENCE Natural Capital of City Trees
SCIENCE Natural Capital of City Trees
SCIENCE Natural Capital of City Trees
ECOLOGY
By Katherine J. Willis1,2 and many countries, not just in the countryside the wrong species in the wrong places can
Gillian Petrokofsky2 but also across cities. One example of such cause unintended problems.
PHOTO: OLEGALBINSKY/ISTOCKPHOTO
natural capital is provided by city trees, Some tree species are more pollution-
T
he term natural capital refers to which can take up substantial amounts of resistant than others. For example, the
elements of nature that, directly or carbon dioxide (1) and also cause local cool- London plane (Platanus x hispanica) has
indirectly, produce value for people. ing, thereby ameliorating the urban heat thrived alongside city streets for many
Determining the location and qual- island effect (2). City vegetation can also re-
ity of natural capital assets, and the duce pollution and improve human health. 1
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 3EA,
ecosystem services that they provide However, understanding the characteristics UK. 2Long-term Ecology Laboratory, Department of Zoology,
for human well-being, is now underway in of particular species is critical, and planting University of Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK. Email: k.willis@kew.org
Published by AAAS
Trees line Park Avenue in New York City. Planting trolling for a wide range of confounding
trees in cities has clear benefits for human health factors, that having more trees in a neigh-
and pollution control. borhood (measured as a higher percentage
of tree canopy) was associated with more
of foliage cover, and physical shape of the positive mental health, particularly among
species. Trees were most effective at remov- those aged 55 and older (9). Likewise, Taylor
ing PM, although tree height was impor- et al. found that in a cross-sectional study
tant (shorter trees performed better). Good in London, UK, areas with higher rates of
PM-removing trees included species of elm, antidepressant prescription and prevalence
magnolia, ash, and holly. Certain species of of smoking had lower street tree densi-
climbing vines performed better than some ties. Smoking levels were linked to levels
trees for PM capture, an important con- of antidepressant prescriptions, but after
sideration when creating green walls and controlling for confounding factors, the
green roofing on city structures. Those not relationship between number of trees and
so effective at PM capture included some prescriptions to treat depression held (10).
common street species, such as ginkgo A study analyzing the effects of the loss
(Ginkgo biloba) and honeysuckle (Lonicera of city trees also provides compelling ev-
maackii) (4). idence for the benefits of trees for human
Deciduousness of the trees is also impor- health (11). Donovan et al. compared health
O
Planting trees in cities can therefore have ne of the most important ques- T cell receptors gene segments and of the
clear benefits, but also downsides. Under- tions in brain science is how infi- immunoglobulin gene segments, in which
standing these trade-offs requires detailed nite information is processed and the 39 constant regions are spliced to vari-
knowledge of the species concerned and their maintained by a finite number of able exons (5). In mice, Pcdha, -b, and
Published by AAAS
The natural capital of city trees
Katherine J. Willis and Gillian Petrokofsky (April 27, 2017)
Science 356 (6336), 374-376. [doi: 10.1126/science.aam9724]
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