According to McDougle, Congress is gaining increased understanding of the importance of urban and community forestry, and as a result we are seeing increasing support and funding for the program. We must address such things as biodiversity, invasive plants, and green infrastructure in our urban forestry programs. Deneke's final point was that he is very pleased to see that many state legislatures are beginning to appropriate dollars for state urban forestry programs, rather than depend entirely upon federal dollars for their programs. Trees add their own emissions to the atmosphere through volatile organic compounds and active hydrocarbons both in the life cycle and in the decay process. He is also studying the effects that certain tree species have on temperature reduction in cities and on removal of atmospheric pollutants.
Conifers seem to be the best trees for removing particulate matter from the atmosphere.
Nowak will soon be coming out with a scientific report detailing the data on these items. His overall message was that, what trees you plant, and where, influence the urban quality of life. US Regional Climate Change Assessment Zhu Hua Ning, Southern University Pennsylvania State University, Land Use Planning and Open Space Conservation in the Spring Creek Watershed William Elmendorf, Urban Forestry Instructor Zhu Hua Ning discussed the US Regional Climate Change Assessment and then Bill Elmendorf, Urban Forestry Instructor at Penn State University, talked about land use planning and open space conservation. Elmendorf's main point was that most land use planning is now fragmented and, thus, not very effective. He said that preserving some open space is extremely important in urban and suburban developments.