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Two Hundred Years Of Forest Change: Effects Of Urbanization On Tree Species Composition And Structure, Rebecca W. Dolan

Rebecca W. Dolan

Despite their importance, the dynamics of urban floras are not well understood and quantitative historical data are rare. The current study used three data sets for trees in Indianapolis/Marion County, Indiana, U.S., to document change over 200 years to the original beech-maple forest and to examine future implications of contemporary tree planting efforts in light of these changes. Data on tree composition and size collected before significant settlement in the early 1800s are compared with recent surveys of trees in remnant natural areas and with trees found on city streets and rights-of-way. All the species recorded in historical surveys are …