Urban forests through space and time

城市树木和森林在英国城镇和城市的物质和文化环境中发挥着重要作用[Davies等人，2017年]。然而，由于缺乏对冠层覆盖的直接观察，我们对这种作用随时间演变的方式的理解受到限制[Doick等人，2020年]。该项目将通过融合过去两个世纪的数据源，揭示英国城市树冠覆盖范围的变化以及树木带来的好处。该项目将侧重于两个案例研究城市，利兹和爱丁堡，具有鲜明的发展历史。管理这两个城市的地方当局已经宣布气候紧急情况;作为其气候变化减缓和适应战略的一部分，利兹有雄心到2050年将其目前的树冠覆盖率翻一番，爱丁堡承诺到2030年成为“百万树城”。了解这两个城市的树冠覆盖率的历史演变及其获取途径，将有助于为未来植树的目的、规模和地点提供信息。

Urban trees and forests play an important role in both the physical and cultural environment of the UK's towns and cities [Davies et al., 2017]. However, our understanding of the way this role has evolved over time is limited by a lack of direct observations of canopy coverage [Doick et al., 2020]. This project will shed new light on changes to the extent of tree canopy cover, and access to the benefits provided by trees, in UK cities through a fusion of data sources spanning the past two centuries. The project will focus on two case study cities, Leeds and Edinburgh, with contrasting development histories. The local authorities governing both cities have declared climate emergencies; as part of their climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies, Leeds has ambitions to double its current tree canopy cover by 2050 and Edinburgh has a commitment to become a 'million tree city' by 2030. Understanding the historical evolution of canopy coverage, and access to it, in the two cities will help inform the purpose, scale and location of future tree planting.