09C-_Urban_Forest_Mgt_Plan_2010_pg_24-25.pdf

Final Urban Forest Management Plan, Scott Air Force Base, St. Clair County, Illinois

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Photo 10. Several valuable trees such as the tulip tree shown above are approved for planting at Scott AFB but have not been adequately utilized in the past. Other underutilized trees include white oak and sugar maple.

4.2 TREE PLANTING

4.2.1 Recommended Trees for Planting

AFI 32-7064 directs Air Force installations to compile a list of recommended landscape trees and shrubs based upon site compatibility, life expectancy, maintenance requirements, and compatibility with BASH guidelines. These lists are to favor native trees and shrubs or other species that require minimal maintenance. Scott AFB in its Architectural Compatibility Plan (AMC 2000) has created an approved list of landscape materials for the Base. These species are presented in Table 4. Species marked with an asterisk are native to Illinois. The housing area located east of Scott Drive has been designated a National Historic District on the National List of Historic Places. This portion of the Base has been historically planted with large trees that are not included in the architectural compatibility list in Table 4. In order to maintain this historical heritage, portions of the Base should utilize high benefit species such as bur oak, London plane tree or American sycamore, and northern red oak. The Scott AFB Integrated Cultural Resource Management Plan provides additional guidance on landscaping in the historic district.

Table 4 presents the current distribution of the large and small trees at Scott AFB. Based on this tree inventory the following large, native species approved for use at Scott AFB are severely underutilized: sugar maple, white oak, and tulip tree (Photo 10). These three species make up less than one percent of the tree population in the study area. White ash is also underutilized at Scott AFB but due to the threat from the emerald ash borer it is not recommended to plant either white ash or green ash at this time. Other trees that are underutilized but make up more than one percent of the population are bald cypress, river birch, thornless honey locust, swamp white oak, and northern red oak.

Small native tree species that are severely underutilized include serviceberry and pagoda dogwood. Hawthorns and eastern redbuds are two other small native trees that could also be planted in larger numbers at the Base.

4.2.2 Tree Planting Areas

Recommendations for tree planting were derived from data collected during the tree inventory and by performing a GIS analysis for tree planting areas. During the inventory, areas with tree stumps and dead trees were marked. These areas are identified in Figure 8 and the majority of these sites are suitable for replacement trees. Existing stumps should be removed and suitable replacement trees planted. In addition, Figure 8 and Appendix B indicate portions of the Base that were identified during a GIS analysis of potential tree planting areas. This analysis factored in the location of existing trees, buildings, sidewalks, roads, parking lots, and recreational

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Final Urban Forest Management Plan, Scott Air Force Base, St. Clair County, Illinois

May 2010 19

Table 4. Landscape Materials Approved for Use at Scott Air Force Base and Current Distribution

Tree Type

Botanical Name Common Name Uses Percent

Distribution

LARGE

TREES

Acer rubrum* Red maple Buffer, open space, screen, walks 9.2 Acer saccharinum* Sugar maple Open space, second/tertiary streets, walks 0.6

Betula nigra* River birch Open space 1.3 Fraxinus americana* White ash Parking, primary/secondary streets 0.7 Fraxinus pennsylvanica*

Seedless green ash Parking lot, tertiary streets, walks 7.0

Gleditsia triacanthos* Thornless honeylocust

Parking lot, walks 1.4

Liriodendron tulipifera*

Tulip Tree Buffer, open space, specimen, walks

0.5

Picea pungens ‘Glauca’

Colorado blue spruce Buffer, open space, secondary streets

0.3

Pinus stobus* Eastern white pine Buffer, open space, screen, tertiary street

8.8

Quercus alba* White oak Buffer 0.6 Quercus bicolor* Swamp white oak Buffer, screen, open space 1.5 Quercus rubra Northern red oak Open space, second/tertiary streets 4.1

Taxodium distichum* Bald cypress Buffer, open space, screen 1.3

SMALL

TREES

Amelanchier arborea* Serviceberry Buffer, open space 0.1 Cercis canadensis* Eastern redbud Buffer, foundation, open space, screen parking 3.8

Cornus alternifolia* Pagoda dogwood Buffer, open space, screen foundation

0.2

Cornus florida* Flowering dogwood Buffer, foundation, screen 1.8 Crataegus crus-galli* Cockspur hawthorn Buffer, foundation, open space, screen

2.3 Crataegus lavallei ‘thornless’

Lavalle hawthorn Barrier, buffer, open space, screen parking

Crataegus phaenopyrum ‘thornless’

Washington hawthorn

Barrier, buffer, open space, screen parking

Koelreuteria paniculata

Golden rain tree Barrier, buffer open space 0.6

Magnolia soulangiana Saucer magnolia Foundation, specimen 1.2 Malus x spp. Crab apple Buffer, open space, screen, primary/secondary streets 4.5

Prunus serrulata ‘Kwanzan’

Kwanzan cherry Foundation, secondary streets 0.7

Pyrus calleryana ‘Aristocrat’

Aristocrat pear Buffer, foundation 1.6

NA – not applicable *native Illinois species (cultivars of the species may not be native to Illinois) Species in bold recommended for more intensive planting as they are currently underutilized.

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