Canberra’s urban forest: Evolution and planning for future landscapes

Canberra, Australia, is a planned city, established in 1911, whose urban forest has been an essential component of city planning since the beginning. As a result of several distinct periods of development, the city now boasts a diverse mix of species and ages making up a thriving urban forest in a region that was once a treeless plain. Many of the early trees, however, are nearing the end of their productive lives, and plans for their removal and replacement are an important focus of the City’s urban forest managers. To aid in addressing these issues, a tool—the Decision Information System for Managing Urban Forests (DISMUT)—was developed. It includes a database of trees, a modeling system, and a reporting and analysis component. This paper describes the tool and presents some of the outputs and how they are used in management decisions.