Urban trees as heat mitigator-Investigating physiological and anatomical traits across street and park microhabitats

Urban areas experience higher temperatures than their rural surroundings due to the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect, primarily caused by heat-absorbing surfaces and human activities. Urban forests help mitigate UHI through shading and transpiration. However, street trees in cities face high abiotic stress, such as compacted soil and increased pollution exposure. Their effectiveness depends on their suitability to the specific geoclimatic and microhabitat conditions where they are planted.

In this study we examine the rate of adaptability of four local urban tree species as expressed by their anatomical and physiological adjustments. We ask how stressed are street trees and if there are certain tree species that exhibit lower stress and greater suitability for urban street environments.

Surprisingly, our initial results suggest that despite the more challenging conditions of street trees, their stress levels are not as expected as expressed by key physiological and anatomical traits - A promising path for further research.