The Essential Tree Selection Guide : For Climate Resilience, Carbon Storage, Species Diversity and Other Ecosystem Benefits

There has never been a better time to plant trees. As well as playing a vital role in the health of the natural world and of us humans, these essential life-giving plants also deliver a vast array of hidden benefits such as cooling shade, rainfall interception and carbon capture – but only if we plant the right tree in the right place. International tree expert Henrik Sjöman along with garden designer and passionate advocate for the environment Arit Anderson have created this visionary resource suitable for the world's temperate regions. It opens with a clear explanation of ecosystem services and how trees deliver them. Some trees excel at particular roles such as providing food for pollinators at times when it is scarce or filtering air pollution. Others have adapted in ways that allow them to cope with extreme conditions such as drought, low-nutrient soil and high winds. At the heart of the book is a unique A-Z Tree Directory representing more than 550 trees chosen for their ecosystem benefits, resilience and a host of other criteria that will ensure their continuing contribution to our future gardens and landscapes. A further quick-reference Tree Selection Table provides key attributes for each species at a glance. This important new tree selection guide marks a step change in approach that will lead to more trees reaching their full potential and a richer environment for future generations.

This exciting new tree selection guide marks a step change in approach that will lead to successful outcomes for trees and a better environment for future generations.

Gardens and green spaces are good for the health of humans and the wider environment and trees play a vital role in this. In the past, trees have been selected primarily for their ornamental value but these essential life-giving plants have the potential to deliver a vast array of ecosystem benefits, but only if we plant the right tree in the right place. To combat the damaging effects of climate change we need mature trees and species diversity, which means careful selection for site and function.

International tree expert Henrik Sjöman along with garden designer and passionate advocate for the environment Arit Anderson identified the need for a new kind of selection guide that focuses on the hidden benefits of trees and dedicated themselves to this visionary new resource.

Easily accessible text, backed by the latest scientific research, describes the multiple benefits mature trees bring to towns and cities including storing carbon, slowing down rainfall and cooling buildings. We learn that some trees excel at particular functions and how to select trees for specific conditions such as droughts and storms. The A-Z is a unique selection of more than 500 trees chosen for their resilience and a range of other criteria that will ensure their contribution to our future gardens and landscapes. A quick-reference Tree Selection Table completes the resource and will spark the tree selection process.