The Urban Forest of Nanjing City: Key Characteristics and Management Assessment

To improve and inform adaptive management efforts for China’s urban forests, this chapter focuses on (1) an analysis of the key attributes of the city’s tree population, and relates them to selected urban factors that are known determinants of urban tree growth; and (2) an evaluation of the pertinent aspects of urban forest management, including organization, operation, and relevant regulations. Nanjing, a principal city in east China, with a human population of 2.2 million, has been chosen for this study because it has high tree cover (about 30% of total urban area), a long urban development history, and a rapid rate of expansion and redevelopment, as have many other cities in China. Therefore, recommendations derived from this study in Nanjing, which has relatively good tree cover and tree condition, could serve as a model for a large number of other Chinese cities.