Scale insect abundance, impervious surface proportions, and temperature data for Acer rubrum study trees
Description
In this study, we investigated how the interaction of urbanization, latitudinal warming, and scale insect abundance affected urban tree health. We predicted that trees in warmer, lower latitude cities would be in poorer health at lower levels of urbanization than trees at cooler, higher latitudes due to the interaction of urbanization, latitudinal temperature, and herbivory. To evaluate our predictions, we surveyed the abundance of scale insect herbivores on a single, common tree species (Acer rubrum) in eight US cities spanning 10° of latitude. We estimated urbanization at two extents, a local one that accounted for the direct effects on an individual tree, and a larger one that captured the surrounding urban landscape.