Structure and function of two urban forest stands in Tucson, Arizona

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to describe the structures of an arid urban forest. Two distinct and adjacent residential neighborhoods in Tucson, Arizona, Winterhaven and Richland Heights, were chosen as the study site. Landcover classes were identified through aerial photointerpretation and digitized using AutoCad. A field inventory gathered vegetative measures. Through an analysis, species composition, horizontal and vertical structure were described. Results were compared between each neighborhood stand and among findings of previous structural studies. Results describe Winterhaven as an uneven-aged stand with 55% available growing space, 37% canopy stocking, a pattern of strong dominance and mostly exotic species. Richland Heights is an even-aged stand with 78% available growing space, 11% canopy stocking, a pattern of codominance and mostly native species. These and other structural analyses have provided a descriptive study of two arid urban forest stands.