Species Richness, Stem Density, and Canopy in Food Forests: Contributions to Ecosystem Services in an Urban Environment

Urban Farm DB summary

Tree species richness, stem density and canopy cover in food forest gardens at 10 public schools in Miami-Dade County, Florida, were investigated and compared with results from neighboring properties around each school. Food forest canopy cover was comparable to neighborhood urban tree cover, while arborescent species richness — including a greater share of edible taxa — and stem density were both higher in food forests than in adjacent neighborhood plots.