Chapter 12. Management of Urban Woodlots and Parks

Management of Urban Woodlots and Parks

Urban woodlots and parks provide wildlife habitat, maintain soil and water quality, help cities to mitigate and adapt to climate change, are aesthetically appealing, and provide recreation to millions of people. There are a number of factors that forest managers must consider in the management of wooded areas in an urban context. They include:

• Forest soil compaction: using techniques to restrict traffic in urban woodlots to specific roads and trails
• Invasive species: controlling non-native invasive plant species from displacing native vegetation
• Safety: recognizing hazardous trees and removing them to keep wooded areas safe for people as well as employing techniques to ensure that sight lines are maintained within wooded areas to ensure visitors have a safe and happy experience
• Climate change: urban parks can be designed to help society adapt to climate change by providing shade and a cooler environment on hot days, reducing the danger of heat stress

Management practices include planting buffer strips to mitigate compaction, pruning to clear sight lines and implementing monitoring programs. Future climate conditions may need to be considered when managing parks and woodlots (Brown, Vanos, Kenny, & Lenzholzer, 2015).

Canadian online resources for woodlot management:

• Alberta Agriculture and Forestry: Woodlot Management Guide for Alberta (PDF)
• Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario: Ecological Woodlot Management
• Federation of BC Woodlots and Natural Resources Canada: Managing Your Woodland
• Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, British Columbia: Woodlot License Management Plan Handbook (PDF)
• Department of Lands and Forestry, Nova Scotia: Woodlot Management – Home Study Program
• Government of Manitoba: Woodlot Associations of Manitoba – Woodlot Management
• Manitoba Model Forest Network, Manitoba Forestry Association, Natural Resources Canada, & Manitoba Habitat Heritage Corporation: A Guide to Best Management Practices (PDF)
• National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy: Private Woodlot Management in the Maritimes
• Government of Nova Scotia: A Quick Guide to Woodlot Management Planning (PDF)
• Ontario Woodlot Association: publications
• City of Vaughan: Woodlot Protection Strategy (PDF)

Canadian online resources for urban park management:

• City of Edmonton: Urban Parks Management Plan
• Parks Canada: Rouge National Urban Park Management Plan (PDF)
• City of Saskatoon: Building Better Parks: An Asset Management Plan (PDF)
• Stanley Park Ecology Society: Stanley Park Forest Management Plans
• City of Vancouver: Stanley Park Forest Management Plan

Non-Canadian online resources:

• City of Boston: Resource Protection Mission: Urban Wilds and Natural Areas
• University of Minnesota: Managing your shoreland woodlot to prevent erosion, University of Minnesota

Further reading:

Brown, R. D., Vanos, J., Kenny, N., & Lenzholzer, S. (2015). Designing urban parks that ameliorate the effects of climate change. Landscape and Urban Planning, 138, 118-131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2015.02.006

Klemm, W., van Hove, B., Lenzholzer, S., & Kramer, H. (2017). Towards guidelines for designing parks of the future. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 21, 134-145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2016.11.004

Miller, R. W., Hauser, R. J., & Werner, L. P. (2015). Urban Forestry: Planning and Managing Urban Greenspaces (3^rd ed.). Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press, Inc. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/350249624_Urban_Forestry_Planning_and_Managing_Urban_Greenspaces_Third_Edition