Urban Forestry

This book represents the latest research on urban forestry in a Malaysian context. It demonstrates that urban forestry is concerned not only with environmental enhancement, but also other aspects, such as recreation, health and well-being, and government policies. This edited collection provides a comprehensive overview of urban forestry studies from various researchers in Malaysia, and includes rich historical perspectives of urban forestry in the country. It also tackles related issues in policy. The greening of urban Malaysia in the 1970s focused primarily on beautification and was primarily the province of horticulturists, landscapers, nursery workers, town planners, and architects, with negligible inputs from foresters, particularly urban foresters. Perhaps for that reason, the term “landscaping” has been used more widely than “urban forestry” by government and private institutions, politicians, stakeholders, academicians, and the public. Nevertheless, the authors show that the concept of urban forestry is not new for developing countries such as Malaysia, where urbanization is increasing at a rapid rate. The book unpacks this demographic shift from a predominantly rural to a principally urban society.

This book will address the destruction of urban forest in nine cities by bombing during World War II and the Bosnian War and their reconstruction in the post-war years. After reviewing the general objectives and results of aerial bombing, the book explores the effects of bombing and the reconstruction of urban forest in London, Coventry, Hamburg, Dresden, St. Petersburg, Stalingrad, Tokyo, Hiroshima, and Sarajevo. Sarajevo stands out among these cities because the destruction of its urban forest was the result of citizens cutting down trees for firewood during the siege of the city.

This edited book covers all aspects of forest deforestation and degradation in detail and their link to land degradation. Poor natural resource management is often a contributory factor in the depletion of resources particularly like degradation of land which hinders the goals to achieve land degradation neutrality (LDN). Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 15.3 states: “By 2030, combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought, and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world.” To achieve the set goals a comprehensive multidirectional approach is required involving policymakers, field functionaries, researchers, and above all educators. The book compiles the field experiences and wisdom of some of the best researchers and authors working in the field of land degradations for quite a long time.

Written from the perspective of an urban forester and certified arbonist, the reader will have a basic understanding of what makes a tree a tree in context to the philosophical and cultural underpinnings of Urban and Community Forestry, and learn how to implement model, time-tested global green practices and initiatives derived from citizen science.

This book contributes significantly to the international literature by bringing forth a novel and comprehensive exploration of urban resilience in the face of climate change and environmental pollution. Its focus on integrating physiological, biochemical, and molecular dimensions distinguishes it from existing literature.

by Andreas Roloff (Editor)