Forestry
Issues in
Small Rural Communities
of Southern Illinois
Many of the issues that the small rural communities of southern Illinois face are no different than those across the entire
midwest and possibly the entire United States. This gallery is designed to visually represent and illustrate some of the
management issues that municipal leaders and private home owners face when addressing community forestry
Small planting sites such as this often provide inadequate growing space for trees. The prolific number of roots sprouts
is indicative of a stressed condition. Also, the trunk wrap should have been removed from the base of the tree to prevent
constriction of the bark and possible girdling.
Decorative pieces such as the one around the trunk of this Bradford Pear are visually nice, but if they do not account for
the mature diameter of the trunk, they can become a nuisance and problem. This is also true for sidewalk grates that are placed
around the base of trees in sidewalk planters.
Little pocket parks such as this one are nice places for downtown employees to have lunch or take a short break. In areas with
low canopy cover, refugia such as this can provide psychological and ecological services beneficial to local residents.
Selecting the right tree for the right place goes a long way in determining the future problems that community leaders may face.
Being informed about tree selection and species diversity are important to a healthy community forest.
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