Urban trees have many environmental benefits, from improving air quality and reducing urban temperatures to increasing feelings of well-being. Scientists at Virginia Tech have shown that roots of urban trees can penetrate compacted soils and allow stormwater to infiltrate better into soils. The work, published in the Journal of Environmental Quality, is part of a larger project to learn to use trees for stormwater management. The project emphasizes the the use of trees and structural soils to improve water quality and reduce impacts of stormwater runoff. In addition to Virginia Tech, the project includes collaborators from Cornell University and the University of California at Davis.
Tree Biology and Plant Science in a Human-dominated World
