Aura Albarracin
An Analysis of the Spatial Distribution of the Tree Species on the St. George Campus of the University of Toronto © 2006
Urban forests are essential to city dwellers because urban trees provide shade and beauty, improve air quality, ameliorate climate, conserve water and energy, intercept and filter solar radiation, inhibit wind flow, reduce soil erosion, attenuate noise, provide wildlife habitat and aggregate aesthetic beauty and value to individual, family, community life and property. The St. George campus of the University of Toronto is located in the urban core of one of the largest cities in Canada and contains a large number of trees that provide multiple benefits to the community. However, the trees on the campus are under intense levels of related stress associated with urban environments as a consequence of their location. This research paper explores and shows the quantitative data and spatial distribution of the tree species on the St. George campus and establishes how proximity to busy streets, volume of traffic, and common problems on urban trees affect and stress the condition of the tree population on the campus.