Urban and peri-urban forests (UPFs) are essential for human well-being, and the WHO (UN) considers UPFs as critical infrastructure in a post-Covid society. However, the health of trees in UPFs and the provision of ecosystem services from urban forests are threatened by the effects of climate change and urbanization.

In the URBORETUM project, we aim to uncover the ecological processes associated with the decline in tree health in urban forests and the provision of ecosystem services in different types of UPFs. We also aim to quantify the impact of UPFs on human brain functions and psychological well-being and improve current urban forest management practices by translating research findings into practice. In the process, we will develop a modern, technology-based, socially accepted, and cost-effective urban forest inventory system.

The URBORETUM project comprises a diverse transdisciplinary consortium. The research work is divided into a total of five work packages, which are managed independently by each partner.

The TreeEcos work package, led by the “Sylvanus” research group at the Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), focuses on investigating the changing structure and composition of urban forests. This involves examining how the availability of nutrients, light, and water influences the ecological processes of trees.

The TreePulse work package, also based at KIT, is concerned with combining functional ecology and remote sensing. It examines the health of individual tree species in urban areas and investigates how the vitality of trees decreases under drought conditions. In addition, an irrigation experiment is carried out in collaboration with the Karlsruhe Horticultural Office to show how to optimize the irrigation of urban trees in order to reduce the decline in tree health caused by drought.

As part of the TreeCare work package, dendroecological studies are carried out at the University of Freiburg, including analysis of the isotopic composition of dendrochronological cores. This allows to draw conclusions about physiological processes in trees during or after extreme climatic events.

The TreeNeuro work package, led by the Central Institute of Mental Health in Mannheim, is dedicated to identifying critical factors of urban forests and their influence on the well-being of city dwellers. It also investigates the individual mental and physiological benefits of urban trees and the underlying neural and physiological mechanisms.

Our municipal partner, the Horticultural Office of the City of Karlsruhe, supports the research in the URBORETUM project with its own work package (TreeCityKA).

In addition, URBORETUM is accompanied by own work packages (TreeInspect and TreeTwin) of two leading companies in the field of wood and tree analysis and digital urban forestry.

Project website: https://www.urboretum.de

Tel.: +49 721 608-24644
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