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Vegetation composition and structure of woody plant communities along urban interstate corridors in Louisville, KY, U.S.A.

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Abstract

Urban forests adjacent to interstate corridors are understudied ecosystems across cities. Despite their small area, these forests may be strategically located to provide large ecosystem services due to their ability to act as a barrier against air pollutants and noise as well as to provide flood control. The woody vegetation composition and structure of forests adjacent to urban interstates is an important determinant of their ability to provide these services. However, these forest communities may be particularly susceptible to the introduction of exotic invasive species via the interstate and the surrounding city that can potentially alter current and future forest composition. The purpose of this study was to investigate the distribution of native and exotic woody vegetation and tree regeneration in forests along three interstate corridors in Louisville, KY, and to determine potential factors (e.g., traffic density) that are correlated with patterns in the woody vegetation community. We found the most important determinants of vegetation composition along these interstate corridors were the distance from the city center and the presence of an exotic invasive shrub, Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii). Compared with forested plots within 10 km of the city center, plots further from the city center had 81% lower stem density of Amur honeysuckle, 96% higher tree seedling regeneration, and 51% greater woody plant species richness. The primarily native species composition of adult trees in forests alongside urban interstates in Louisville and the regeneration of native tree species provide optimism that these forests can maintain native species while experiencing multiple impacts from the interstate as well as from the surrounding city, emphasizing their important potential for maintaining natural forest functions across the urban landscape.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Brad Schneid for field assistance on vegetation data collection. We also thank Cary Cassell for guidance on conducting highway research safely, Pat Haragan for assistance with woody plant identification, and Sarah Emery for advice on performing multivariate statistical analyses. The Department of Highways, KYTC granted permission to access the interstate rights-of-way and the Louisville Metro Parks granted permission to conduct research in Cherokee, Seneca, and Thurman-Hutchins Parks. We thank the University of Louisville Research Foundation IRIG and URG programs, the Kentucky Society of Natural History, and the USDA Forest Service NRS-4952 and SRS-4952 for funding.

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  1. Department of Biology, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, 40292, USA

    Tara L. E. Trammell & Margaret M. Carreiro

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  1. Tara L. E. Trammell
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  2. Margaret M. Carreiro
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Correspondence to Tara L. E. Trammell.

Appendix

Appendix

Table 5 Total tree, shrub, and vine species across all three highways in Louisville, KY. Total area sampled = 2,100 m2 (Species according to Gleason and Cronquist (1991)). Exotic species demarcated with an E
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Table 6 Tree, shrub, and vine species codes
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Trammell, T.L.E., Carreiro, M.M. Vegetation composition and structure of woody plant communities along urban interstate corridors in Louisville, KY, U.S.A.. Urban Ecosyst 14, 501–524 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-011-0193-4

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