Barriers and opportunities for sustainable and resilient urban forests

Manuel Esperon-Rodriguez; Rachael Gallagher; Carlo Calfapietra; Paloma Cariñanos; Cynnamon Dobbs; Ana Alice Eleuterio; Diego Esperon Rodriguez; Ali Jahanian; Elizaveta Litvak; Stephen J. Livesley; Gabriele Manoli; Renee M. Marchin; Timon McPhearson; Christian Messier; Johan Östberg; Lara A. Roman; Alessio Russo; Maryam Saffariha; Charlie Shackleton; Henrik Sjöman; Ingjerd Solfjeld; Jonah Susskind; Jens Christian Svenning; Natalie van Doorn; Björn Wiström; Jun Yang; Mark G. Tjoelker

doi:10.1038/s44284-025-00212-2

Barriers and opportunities for sustainable and resilient urban forests

Manuel Esperon-Rodriguez
, Rachael Gallagher
, Carlo Calfapietra
, Paloma Cariñanos
, Cynnamon Dobbs
, Ana Alice Eleuterio
, Diego Esperon Rodriguez
, Ali Jahanian
, Elizaveta Litvak
, Stephen J. Livesley
, Gabriele Manoli
, Renee M. Marchin
, Timon McPhearson
, Christian Messier
, Johan Östberg
, Lara A. Roman
, Alessio Russo
, Maryam Saffariha
, Charlie Shackleton
, Henrik Sjöman

Ingjerd Solfjeld, Jonah Susskind, Jens Christian Svenning, Natalie van Doorn, Björn Wiström, Jun Yang, Mark G. Tjoelker

Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment

National Research Council of Italy
National Biodiversity Future Center (NBFC)
University of Granada
University of Connecticut
Universidade Federal da Integração Latino-Americana
Universidad de Guadalajara
Amirkabir University of Technology
Arizona State University
University of Melbourne
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne
The New School
Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies
Stockholm University
Université du Québec en Outaouais
Université du Québec à Montréal
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
USDA Forest Service
Queensland University of Technology
University of California
Rhodes University
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Gothenburg Botanical Garden
Norwegian University of Life Sciences
SWA Group
Aarhus University
AgroParisTech
United States Department of Agriculture
Tsinghua University

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

As cities heat up and expand in area and population, urban forests offer a nature-based solution to enhance liveability and reduce rising temperatures in cities. However, urban forests are vulnerable to climate change and face costly establishment and maintenance challenges. Here we explore four key ecological and socioeconomic barriers to achieving resilient urban forests: species selection, tree supply, tree life cycle (establishment and maintenance, including irrigation) and community engagement. We discuss how integrating traditional urban forestry practices with emerging technology offers a holistic approach to creating resilient, sustainable urban forests that can adapt to climate change while meeting community needs.
Correction to this title at https://doi.org//10.1038/s44284-025-00224-y

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	290-298
Number of pages	9
Journal	Nature Cities
Volume	2
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s44284-025-00212-2
Publication status	Published - 2025

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities
SDG 13 Climate Action
SDG 15 Life on Land
SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

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10.1038/s44284-025-00212-2

Cite this

Esperon-Rodriguez, M., Gallagher, R., Calfapietra, C., Cariñanos, P., Dobbs, C., Eleuterio, A. A., Esperon Rodriguez, D., Jahanian, A., Litvak, E., Livesley, S. J., Manoli, G., Marchin, R. M., McPhearson, T., Messier, C., Östberg, J., Roman, L. A., Russo, A., Saffariha, M., Shackleton, C., ... Tjoelker, M. G. (2025). Barriers and opportunities for sustainable and resilient urban forests. Nature Cities, 2(4), 290-298. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44284-025-00212-2

@article{fa0f334415144fb4b586f118c93854bd,

title = "Barriers and opportunities for sustainable and resilient urban forests",

abstract = "As cities heat up and expand in area and population, urban forests offer a nature-based solution to enhance liveability and reduce rising temperatures in cities. However, urban forests are vulnerable to climate change and face costly establishment and maintenance challenges. Here we explore four key ecological and socioeconomic barriers to achieving resilient urban forests: species selection, tree supply, tree life cycle (establishment and maintenance, including irrigation) and community engagement. We discuss how integrating traditional urban forestry practices with emerging technology offers a holistic approach to creating resilient, sustainable urban forests that can adapt to climate change while meeting community needs. Correction to this title at https://doi.org//10.1038/s44284-025-00224-y",

author = "Manuel Esperon-Rodriguez and Rachael Gallagher and Carlo Calfapietra and Paloma Cari{\~n}anos and Cynnamon Dobbs and Eleuterio, \{Ana Alice\} and \{Esperon Rodriguez\}, Diego and Ali Jahanian and Elizaveta Litvak and Livesley, \{Stephen J.\} and Gabriele Manoli and Marchin, \{Renee M.\} and Timon McPhearson and Christian Messier and Johan {\"O}stberg and Roman, \{Lara A.\} and Alessio Russo and Maryam Saffariha and Charlie Shackleton and Henrik Sj{\"o}man and Ingjerd Solfjeld and Jonah Susskind and Svenning, \{Jens Christian\} and \{van Doorn\}, Natalie and Bj{\"o}rn Wistr{\"o}m and Jun Yang and Tjoelker, \{Mark G.\}",

year = "2025",

doi = "10.1038/s44284-025-00212-2",

language = "English",

volume = "2",

pages = "290--298",

journal = "Nature Cities",

number = "4",

}

Esperon-Rodriguez, M , Gallagher, R, Calfapietra, C, Cariñanos, P, Dobbs, C, Eleuterio, AA, Esperon Rodriguez, D, Jahanian, A, Litvak, E, Livesley, SJ, Manoli, G, Marchin, RM, McPhearson, T, Messier, C, Östberg, J, Roman, LA, Russo, A, Saffariha, M, Shackleton, C, Sjöman, H, Solfjeld, I, Susskind, J, Svenning, JC, van Doorn, N, Wiström, B, Yang, J & Tjoelker, MG 2025, 'Barriers and opportunities for sustainable and resilient urban forests', Nature Cities, vol. 2, no. 4, pp. 290-298. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44284-025-00212-2

TY - JOUR

T1 - Barriers and opportunities for sustainable and resilient urban forests

AU - Esperon-Rodriguez, Manuel

AU - Gallagher, Rachael

AU - Calfapietra, Carlo

AU - Cariñanos, Paloma

AU - Dobbs, Cynnamon

AU - Eleuterio, Ana Alice

AU - Esperon Rodriguez, Diego

AU - Jahanian, Ali

AU - Litvak, Elizaveta

AU - Livesley, Stephen J.

AU - Manoli, Gabriele

AU - Marchin, Renee M.

AU - McPhearson, Timon

AU - Messier, Christian

AU - Östberg, Johan

AU - Roman, Lara A.

AU - Russo, Alessio

AU - Saffariha, Maryam

AU - Shackleton, Charlie

AU - Sjöman, Henrik

AU - Solfjeld, Ingjerd

AU - Susskind, Jonah

AU - Svenning, Jens Christian

AU - van Doorn, Natalie

AU - Wiström, Björn

AU - Yang, Jun

AU - Tjoelker, Mark G.

PY - 2025

Y1 - 2025

N2 - As cities heat up and expand in area and population, urban forests offer a nature-based solution to enhance liveability and reduce rising temperatures in cities. However, urban forests are vulnerable to climate change and face costly establishment and maintenance challenges. Here we explore four key ecological and socioeconomic barriers to achieving resilient urban forests: species selection, tree supply, tree life cycle (establishment and maintenance, including irrigation) and community engagement. We discuss how integrating traditional urban forestry practices with emerging technology offers a holistic approach to creating resilient, sustainable urban forests that can adapt to climate change while meeting community needs. Correction to this title at https://doi.org//10.1038/s44284-025-00224-y

AB - As cities heat up and expand in area and population, urban forests offer a nature-based solution to enhance liveability and reduce rising temperatures in cities. However, urban forests are vulnerable to climate change and face costly establishment and maintenance challenges. Here we explore four key ecological and socioeconomic barriers to achieving resilient urban forests: species selection, tree supply, tree life cycle (establishment and maintenance, including irrigation) and community engagement. We discuss how integrating traditional urban forestry practices with emerging technology offers a holistic approach to creating resilient, sustainable urban forests that can adapt to climate change while meeting community needs. Correction to this title at https://doi.org//10.1038/s44284-025-00224-y

U2 - 10.1038/s44284-025-00212-2

DO - 10.1038/s44284-025-00212-2

M3 - Article

VL - 2

SP - 290

EP - 298

JO - Nature Cities

JF - Nature Cities

IS - 4

ER -

Barriers and opportunities for sustainable and resilient urban forests

Abstract

UN SDGs

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