Tree Huggers

TAMPA, Fla. - The city of Tampa will be adding hundreds of trees in two communities as part of the mayor’s mission to plant 30,000 new trees by 2030.

"We were known, previously, as having one of the best tree canopies in the world," Mayor Jane Castor said. "Every five years, USF does a tree study in the city. This last tree study showed that we had lost approximately 8% of our canopy. And so, we are doing all that we can to replace that and replace it with trees that make a difference."

I'm not sure if this is a good fit for this community, but I've read enough to know there are some very knowledgeable folks here, so I thought I'd give it a shot. Feel free to remove if it's off topic/too specific.

This umbrella pine has been here for around 60 years, and recently started having some trouble. I know a certain amount of yellowing and seasonal needle drop is common, but it seems like this one's been hit especially hard, and there's a companion tree on the other side of the house, same age, which is still deep green. I'd really really love to keep it going, and I'm hoping it's not too late.

We had a bad summer, unusually wet, and I think it stressed this tree - the other one is on top of a hill so it must get better drainage. There was also some construction somewhat nearby, and uphill, which might be causing more water to enter the yard - the basement flooded for the first time in awhile. Also a road crew cut some trees that might have been shading it occasionally, I'm not sure. They might have been too far away to make any difference.

I'm planning to improve on a drainage ditch which runs along the driveway between this tree and the wettest areas, hopefully before snowmelt. I guess my questions are is there anything else I can/should do? Soil test in case it needs something? Can this tree be saved? It's yellowing but it still has some deep green in places (mostly on the shady side).

I have some closeups too if that would help.

archive link: https://web.archive.org/web/20240202223752/https://www.latimes.com/travel/story/2024-01-29/greatest-trees-of-los-angeles

Nearly 8,000 trees and shrubs in southern Louisville and health data from about 500 residents fill out the urban science experiment

Already posted an article on this last month but it fascinates me and I thought this was a good overview :)

I thought I'd share this wonderful film about forest defenders and why they do what they do.

I seriously encourage anyone to think about doing this. Navigating the bureaucracy can be annoying but the chances of success are much higher than guerilla planting. I’ve seen lots of hard work get mowed down by uncaring city employees, so getting them on board ahead of time is worth the effort.

cross-posted from: https://moist.catsweat.com/m/[email protected]/t/123083

There’s a bit of post-Christmas cheer on the menu for elephants at the Berlin Zoo: they can chomp on Christmas trees that didn’t find a home.

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/5315976

As the world’s climate warms, tree growing ranges in the Northern Hemisphere are predicted to move farther north and higher in elevation.

Trees, of course, can’t get up and walk to their new climatic homes. This is where assisted migration is supposed to lend a hand.

A potential labelling error was the latest in a series of concerns for the American Chestnut Foundation, driving the nonprofit to pull support for a genetically engineered tree meant resurrect an iconic American species.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/9751948

The Biden administration is moving to conserve groves of old-growth trees on federal land by revising management plans for national forests and grasslands across the U.S. as climate change amplifies the threats they face from wildfires, insects and disease.

Agriculture Sec. Tom Vilsack said the goal was to provide an “ecologically-driven” approach to older forests — an arena where logging interests have historically predominated. It would be the first nationwide amendment to U.S. Forest Service management plans in the agency’s 118-year history, he said.

Details were obtained by The Associated Press in advance of Tuesday’s public release of the proposal.

It follows longstanding calls from environmentalists to preserve older forests that offer crucial wildlife habitat and other environmental benefits. The timber industry has fought against logging restrictions on government-owned lands.