Urban forestry is the art and science of managing trees and forest resources in and around urban community ecosystems for availing physiological, sociological, economic and aesthetic benefits trees provide for society.

Urban Forestry concentrates on all tree-dominated as well as other green resources in and around urban areas, such as woodlands, public and private urban parks and gardens, street tree and square plantations, botanical gardens and cemeteries.

Why Urban-Forestry is Needed?

The urban population growth of 31.8 % during 2001–2011 is far ahead of simultaneous national population growth of 17.6 %. Cities are already facing multiple problems and about 40% population will be residing in urban areas by 2030 which will further aggravate urban problems. Some problems associated with lack of urban greenery are:

1. Increased Carbon Emissions: Cities occupy less than 3% of the global terrestrial surface but accounts for 78% of the carbon emissions.
2. Climate change Induced Heat Waves and Dust storms: Heat waves aggravate thermal discomfort and culminate in health issues.
3. Creation of ‘Micro-Climates’ and Urban Heat Islands (UHI): Reduced potential for evaporative cooling increases the net heat stored in urban environment and leads to UHIs, thus developing a peculiar ‘micro climate’ in and around urban landscape.
4. Decreasing Biodiversity: Depletion of green cover has caused habitat loss and shrinking shelter for various fauna.
5. Reduced Ecosystem Services: Forests provide a variety ofecosystem services which are lost due to absence of green cover in and around cities.
6. Check Unsustainable Development: Unplanned, explosive and pressurized development has resulted in loss of essential ecology and its components including wetlands, absence of which reduces natural mitigation of disasters. E.g. Chennai Floods.

Benefits:

Ecological Benefits:

1. Microclimate and Urban Heat Island effect: Urban trees can help to improve the air quality by cooling and cleaning the air, reducing smog, ground-level ozone and greenhouse effect. They can mitigate the heat island effect by giving green lungs to cities.
2. Carbon Sequestration: Urban forests can sequester huge amounts of carbon by capturing carbon dioxide from atmosphere.
3. Biodiversity:Trees and forests present in urban areas can provide shelter and habitat to many important animals especially avifauna.
4. Management of Urban Hydrological Cycle: Through water provisioning, regulating, recharging and filtering role, urban forests play key roles in supporting water management in and around urban settlements.

Social Benefits:

1. Checks Haphazard Urbanization: Urban forests can check rapid and unplanned urbanization; development of slums by demarcating city limits and industrial spaces.
2. Aesthetic Benefits:Urban trees enhance beauty and environmental quotient of city contribute to aesthetic quality of residential streets and community parks.
3. Improves Mental Alertness And Reduce Stress:Green areas reduce stress and improve physical health for urban residents while providing spaces for people to interact.
4. Education: Urban forests in the form of parks, botanical gardens, zoological gardens, avenue trees and other urban green spaces are centres of education on flora and fauna.
5. Recreation: Green parks provide a break from the busy, tiring, often repetitive and tedious routine jobs and works for people and safe playgrounds for children
6. Cultural Regeneration:Urban green spaces can enhance cultural activities by providing venues for local festivals, civic celebrations, political gatherings and theatrical performances.

Economic Benefits:

1. Real estate prices:Landscaping with trees—in yards, in parks and greenways, along streets, and in shopping centers—can increase property values and commercial benefits
2. Employment: Tree planting and maintenance in urban forests can be labour intensive and provide work opportunities which may be especially important in poorer cities.
3. Reduced energy consumption:Urban forest offers significant benefits in reducing building air-conditioning demand and reducing energy consumption.