TREE Fund Research

TREE Fund promotes scientific inquiry designed to benefit commercial, residential, utility and consulting arborists, urban foresters, and other professionals in related fields in their shared work to create, support and sustain vibrant urban canopies. Our current primary areas of inquiry and exploration, with representative sample topics (not all-inclusive), are as follows:

  • Root and Soil Management, e.g:
    • Mycorrhizal networks
    • Soil amendments and structural soils
    • Blended and manufactured soils
    • Soil testing and tissue testing
  • Propagation, Planting and Establishment, e.g.:
    • Fertilization
    • Selection/propagation of superior clones
    • Production methods to influence better root growth
    • Improved transplantability
    • Improved plant establishment
  • Plant Health Care, e.g.:
    • Pruning
    • Pest/pathogen biology and management
    • Resistance breeding
    • Tree injection
    • Adaptive silviculture
  • Risk Assessment and Worker Safety, e.g.:
    • Decay assessment
    • Response growth
    • Mechanical pruning
    • Lightning protection
    • Support systems, cabling, etc.
    • Machine-aided climbing
    • Biomechanics
  • Urban Forestry (To Include Human Dimensions), e.g.:
    • Quantitative and/or qualitative analysis of urban forest benefits to humans and communities
    • Techniques for educating communities to support sound policy/decision-making, zoning, development decisions, etc.
    • Policy formation and program implementation
    • “Nature Based Solutions”
    • Role of volunteers in Community Forestry
    • Behavioral economics
    • Ecosystem services
    • Tree diversity

TREE Fund welcomes research proposals and applications from a wide range of academic and technical disciplines, of both a qualitative and a quantitative nature. All 2022-2023 active research grant programs are described here. Before applying for any research grant, carefully read all provided guidelines to ensure that your proposed project aligns with both TREE Fund’s broad research priorities, and the specific areas of inquiry defined in each individual grant program.

See available Research Grants

View an archive of past research projects supported by TREE Fund