Urban forests will be affected by a changing climate during this century, but urban forests and tree canopy, if properly located and maintained, can play a critical role in helping cities address climate change impacts. These Climate Change Vulnerability of Urban Trees handouts were developed to aid urban community forest practitioners in selecting trees to reduce climate vulnerability of their urban forests. Climate vulnerability is a function of the impacts of climate change on a species and its adaptive capacity. The following factors were used to determine climate vulnerability in these handouts:

• Urban adaptability: Adaptability scores were generated for each tree species using methods developed in the Chicago Wilderness Region Urban Forest Vulnerability Assessment and Synthesis (Brand et al. 2017) and were based on literature describing tolerances to disturbances and growth requirements.
• Hardiness and heat zone suitability: Zone suitability was determined by comparing tree species tolerance ranges to current and projected heat and hardiness zones for the urban area.

It is important to note that a tree species may have favorable adaptability, suitability, and vulnerability determinations but still not be suitable for planting due to other reasons like invasive potential for susceptibility to pests or pathogens. These urban tree species vulnerability handouts were created primarily for species being planted in developed urban sites and to serve as a complement to other tree selection resources.

Climate Change Vulnerability of Urban Trees handouts were created for the following urban areas:

• Ann Arbor, MI
• Ashland, WI
• Austin, TX
• Boston, MA 
• Chicago, IL
• Des Moines, IA
• Detroit, MI
• Grand Rapids, MI
• Green Bay, WI
• Indianapolis, IN
• Lexington, KY
• Middleton, WI
• Milwaukee, WI
• Monroe, WI
• New York City, NY
• Phoenix, AZ
• Puget Sound (Seattle area), WA
• Racine, WI
• Rochester, MN
• Stevens Point, WI
• Twin Cities (Minneapolis/Saint Paul), MN
• Washington, D.C.

Additional details related to carbon and health are available for the following selected urban areas:

• Boston, MA
• Indianapolis, IN
• Phoenix, AZ
• Providence, RI

Learn more about urban forests and climate change, browse additional resources, and find more detailed urban forest vulnerability assessments produced for some metropolitan areas on our Urban Forests program page. These handouts were created for urban forestry planting; for more information on habitat suitability of native species, visit the USDA Forest Service Forest Ecosystem Tree Atlas for projected changes for eastern tree species, as well as additional regional summary tables for states, watersheds, urban centers, and other areas. The majority of these handouts were created from 2020-2021 and have not been updated.