MWRO-Great Lakes Northern Forest CESU Grant: Enhancing Sustainable Tree Canopies

This Cooperative Agreement P18AC00073 (Agreement) is entered into by the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service (NPS), and Regents of the University of Minnesota (Recipient). The University of Minnesota is a member of the Great Lakes Northern Forest Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Document Number: NPS # NPS-GLNF-CESU-2017Tree canopy cover in the United States is declining. Nowak and Greenfield (2012) documented that in 17 of the 20 U.S. cities assessed for canopy and impervious surfaces changes, tree canopy cover had significantly declined within recent timespan (about 10 years), and impervious surfaces had significantly increased in 16 of the 20 communities. For a variety of reasons and pressures, native vegetation is not replenishing itself in natural areas. Plant communities are changing character. In a 2013 a cost benefit analysis of using available nursery root types (bare root, containerized and balled-and-burlapped) in various planting initiatives in six Minnesota communities, found that bare rooted trees resulted in the least expensive modus operandi for tree planting programs, with an equal rate of survival (Dierich, 2013).Trees and shrubs that are commercially available in the upper Midwest can be purchased as bare-rooted and planted in the spring, bare-rooted and installed in community gravel beds to be held for autumn planting, containerized which can be planted any time and balled-and-burlapped, which again can be planted any time the ground isn’t frozen. The greatest selection of species and varieties is via bare-rooted plant materials. The optimum timing for tree planting initiatives in the upper Midwest is in the autumn when the pressure for dutiful irrigation is less. (American Standards for Nursery Stock – ANSI Z 60.1).The information learned through this project would benefit the restoration efforts within the Great Lakes, though also more broadly by this new knowledge provided to the scientific community and researchers everywhere. This information is important to understand if there’s a more economical and effective approach that can be incorporated into current grant programs or restoration activities, whether by federal, state, county agencies, tribes or others. And if this work shows trends in increased establishment at lower costs as anticipated, the information about how much could nutrient run-off be reduced in the future in urban areas (see Measures of Progress for Focus Area 3 under the GLRI) would be valuable to the researchers and managers.One objective of this study is to document all species and nursery rooting types used in these planting initiatives, track and record survival and establishment rates for three years, and project their impact on canopy cover 30 years out. A second objective is to document citizen engagement at the community level to quantify the impact on said communities’ capacity to manage a tree canopy planting initiative. A third objective is to document any changes in the tree genetic diversity of said communities as a result of the planting initiatives. A fourth and final objective is to assess species adaptability to the various landscape indices (e.g., shade, lowland, soil characteristics), particularly in the new sites along Lake Superior and southern Lake Michigan. These indices could be compared with other (non-Great Lake sites) to assess which variables are critically important or improve the likelihood of tree survival, likely establishment and likely providing canopy cover in 30 years. Scope of Work:Western Lake Superior:Four communities on the north shore of Minnesota (Duluth, Hermantown, Silver Bay and Grand Marais) will begin their tree canopy planting initiatives in the spring of 2018. The PI will work with these communities to set up the gravel beds and study a number of variables over two years. Southern Lake Michigan:The City of Racine, Wisconsin, and possible Gary, East Chicago, Hobart and Michigan City, would participate in the research study. The National Park Service would host a community gravel bed at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore where a seasonal biotech could assist in the data collection and maintain the gravel beds over the summer. Various NPS staff would work with the local communities (for example Chesterton’s Tree Share program, Shirley Hinze Land Trust) to highlight this research, share results and assist in production of the educational video. Variables to measure:1) Number of trees planted by nursery root types (i.e., spring bare root, containerized, autumn gravel bed bare root).2) Rates of:a. Survival rate by species and nursery root types after one year.b. Establishment by species, rooting type (bare root, container or ball/burlapped), who planted it (volunteers or cities) after three years.i. Changes in species diversity by community from existing tree metrics to future types.c. Performance assessments of species by landscape type (maintained urban, unmaintained natural, site indices – soil, light exposure, animal pressure).d. Projected relative canopy cover contribution by species. e. Projected impact on stormwater run-off management using the Minnesota Stormwater Manual MIDS (Minimal Impact Design Standards) calculator and i-Tree modeling tools (e.g. i-Tree Streets or i-Tree Design).3) Cost/Benefit Analysis:a. Cost of purchasing nursery stock, construction/maintenance/harvesting of community gravel bed nursery stock, survival rates, what it costs to plant, and equipment cost.4) Community Engagement:a. Gravel bed set-upb. Number of community volunteers and volunteer hours contributed to the canopy planting initiatives.c. Species selectiond. Care of TreesRECIPIENT AGREES TO: 1. Work with parks (and other federal lands) in Minnesota and western/southern Lake Michigan (INDU) and the city of Racine, Wisconsin, to measure variables related to the research questions.2. Provide best management practice information to federal agencies so they can incorporate into existing tree planting grant programs. 3. Provide presentations to core team and interested audiences including builders association, nursery associations, Shade Tree course at UMN (1200 attendees from multiple states), or urban forestry webinar attendees.4. Create a YouTube video on the project methods and results that will be shared with numerous audiences.Produce a technical report which includes a 3-5 page Executive Summary including cost comparison results, survival and establishment rates, and projected genetic tree character of the cooperative communities by 2050NATIONAL PARK SERVICE AGREES TO:1. Provide a liaison to the University of Minnesota who would jointly develop the goals and scope of work for the project, activities to be accomplished, and lead larger work group phone calls with other federal agencies to ensure the project meets as many priorities as feasible.2. Provide 1-2 gravel bed sites at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore for PI research work around southern Lake Michigan.3. Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore will provide staff time for two summers to assist with the project.4. NPS personnel will assist with the creation of the YouTube video on project methods.

Tree canopy cover in the United States is declining. Nowak and Greenfield (2012) documented that in 17 of the 20 U.S. cities assessed for canopy and impervious surfaces changes, tree canopy cover had significantly declined within recent timespan (about 10 years), and impervious surfaces had significantly increased in 16 of the 20 communities. For a variety of reasons and pressures, native vegetation is not replenishing itself in natural areas. Plant communities are changing character.

In a 2013 a cost benefit analysis of using available nursery root types (bare root, containerized and balled-and-burlapped) in various planting initiatives in six Minnesota communities, found that bare rooted trees resulted in the least expensive modus operandi for tree planting programs, with an equal rate of survival (Dierich, 2013).

Trees and shrubs that are commercially available in the upper Midwest can be purchased as bare-rooted and planted in the spring, bare-rooted and installed in community gravel beds to be held for autumn planting, containerized which can be planted any time and balled-and-burlapped, which again can be planted any time the ground isn’t frozen. The greatest selection of species and varieties is via bare-rooted plant materials. The optimum timing for tree planting initiatives in the upper Midwest is in the autumn when the pressure for dutiful irrigation is less. (American Standards for Nursery Stock – ANSI Z 60.1).

The information learned through this project would benefit the restoration efforts within the Great Lakes, though also more broadly by this new knowledge provided to the scientific community and researchers everywhere. This information is important to understand if there’s a more economical and effective approach that can be incorporated into current grant programs or restoration activities, whether by federal, state, county agencies, tribes or others. And if this work shows trends in increased establishment at lower costs as anticipated, the information about how much could nutrient run-off be reduced in the future in urban areas (see Measures of Progress for Focus Area 3 under the GLRI) would be valuable to the researchers and managers.

One objective of this study is to document all species and nursery rooting types used in these planting initiatives, track and record survival and establishment rates for three years, and project their impact on canopy cover 30 years out. A second objective is to document citizen engagement at the community level to quantify the impact on said communities’ capacity to manage a tree canopy planting initiative. A third objective is to document any changes in the tree genetic diversity of said communities as a result of the planting initiatives. A fourth and final objective is to assess species adaptability to the various landscape indices (e.g., shade, lowland, soil characteristics), particularly in the new sites along Lake Superior and southern Lake Michigan. These indices could be compared with other (non-Great Lake sites) to assess which variables are critically important or improve the likelihood of tree survival, likely establishment and likely providing canopy cover in 30 years.

Scope of Work:
Western Lake Superior:
Four communities on the north shore of Minnesota (Duluth, Hermantown, Silver Bay and Grand Marais) will begin their tree canopy planting initiatives in the spring of 2018. The PI will work with these communities to set up the gravel beds and study a number of variables over two years.

Southern Lake Michigan:
The City of Racine, Wisconsin, and possible Gary, East Chicago, Hobart and Michigan City, would participate in the research study. The National Park Service would host a community gravel bed at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore where a seasonal biotech could assist in the data collection and maintain the gravel beds over the summer. Various NPS staff would work with the local communities (for example Chesterton’s Tree Share program, Shirley Hinze Land Trust) to highlight this research, share results and assist in production of the educational video.

Variables to measure:
1) Number of trees planted by nursery root types (i.e., spring bare root, containerized, autumn gravel bed bare root).
2) Rates of:
a. Survival rate by species and nursery root types after one year.
b. Establishment by species, rooting type (bare root, container or ball/burlapped), who planted it (volunteers or cities) after three years.
i. Changes in species diversity by community from existing tree metrics to future types.
c. Performance assessments of species by landscape type (maintained urban, unmaintained natural, site indices – soil, light exposure, animal pressure).
d. Projected relative canopy cover contribution by species.
e. Projected impact on stormwater run-off management using the Minnesota Stormwater Manual MIDS (Minimal Impact Design Standards) calculator and i-Tree modeling tools (e.g. i-Tree Streets or i-Tree Design).
3) Cost/Benefit Analysis:
a. Cost of purchasing nursery stock, construction/maintenance/harvesting of community gravel bed nursery stock, survival rates, what it costs to plant, and equipment cost.
4) Community Engagement:
a. Gravel bed set-up
b. Number of community volunteers and volunteer hours contributed to the canopy planting initiatives.
c. Species selection
d. Care of Trees

RECIPIENT AGREES TO:
1. Work with parks (and other federal lands) in Minnesota and western/southern Lake Michigan (INDU) and the city of Racine, Wisconsin, to measure variables related to the research questions.
2. Provide best management practice information to federal agencies so they can incorporate into existing tree planting grant programs.
3. Provide presentations to core team and interested audiences including builders association, nursery associations, Shade Tree course at UMN (1200 attendees from multiple states), or urban forestry webinar attendees.
4. Create a YouTube video on the project methods and results that will be shared with numerous audiences.
Produce a technical report which includes a 3-5 page Executive Summary including cost comparison results, survival and establishment rates, and projected genetic tree character of the cooperative communities by 2050

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE AGREES TO:

1. Provide a liaison to the University of Minnesota who would jointly develop the goals and scope of work for the project, activities to be accomplished, and lead larger work group phone calls with other federal agencies to ensure the project meets as many priorities as feasible.
2. Provide 1-2 gravel bed sites at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore for PI research work around southern Lake Michigan.
3. Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore will provide staff time for two summers to assist with the project.
4. NPS personnel will assist with the creation of the YouTube video on project methods.