Searching future urban trees for north-west Europe through dendro-ecological studies – A case study of Quercus frainetto in north-east Romania

Abstract

A limited number of species and genera currently dominate the tree stock in streets and urban sites. There has been considerable and persistent argument for the necessity of using a more varied and stress-tolerant selection of tree species in these situations. This paper reports results from a dendro-ecological study of Hungarian oak, Quercus frainetto, in a forest-steppe reserve near Bursucani village (Galaţi County), north-eastern Romania, in order to identify its potential as an urban tree in the northern parts of Central Europe and in adjacent, milder parts of Northern Europe (CNE-region). In this forest, the Hungarian oaks are exposed to similar site conditions as inner-city environments of the CNE-region, with cold winters, and warm and periodically really dry conditions. The tree growth patterns were studied in ten 20m × 20m plots, resulting in an allocated area of 0.4 hectares. For all trees, height and diameter were measured and related to tree age. This was in order to detect the species growth and performance in these sites over time. In total, 179 individuals of Hungarian oak were included in the studied plots with documented good growth and performance in this site. The results indicated the species' use-potential in site situations comparable to urban paved sites in the CNE-region. Since Hungarian oaks have a very limited use in urban greenery in the CNE-region today, it has the potential based on this study to increase the species diversity of the current urban tree population in urban paved sites, where the need of a greater diversity is highest.

Keywords:

• habitat studies
• site-adapted species use
• tree selection
• urban sites
• steppe environments
• Quercus frainetto