Climate change threatens Vienna's city trees: This is how your care is ensured!

Climate change threatens Vienna's city trees: This is how your care is ensured!

Wien, Österreich - Vienna faces a double challenge: climate change not only brings with it hotter summer and extreme weather events, but also has an impact on the city trees that are indispensable for the microclimate and the cityscape. There are over 500,000 city trees in the Austrian capital, for which around 70 specially trained tree nurses and certified tree inspectors are responsible, as the Environmental Bundesamt . Divine weather or not, many of these trees often only reach half of their natural age.

The city of Vienna has reacted and developed a comprehensive city tree concept that takes into account climate change as a central factor. The selection of suitable tree species should be based on future urban climatic conditions in order to optimize the lifespan of the plants. Such a procedure could help many proven tree species to better defy the new challenges.

The way to the future of the city trees

Vienna can benefit from the experiences of other cities that have already developed innovative models to improve city trees. In Bavaria, for example, a process-oriented model was developed as part of the sub-projects CityTree I and II. As ZSK , this model helps the planners to better understand the growth and ecosystem services of city trees and to adapt to the future climate conditions. The guide contains helpful simulation results that can be used for a variety of tree species in the cities.

The challenges are great, but with a coordinated approach in the care and planning of the city trees, Vienna can not only protect its green lungs, but also offer future generations a more livable urban climate. This path requires a good hand in choosing the right tree species and the continuous care of the existing tree stocks. A full success only becomes visible from the age of around 20 when the trees can develop their full effectiveness for the climate.