A new study by researchers at Columbia University and published in the journal Tree Physiology has found that Red Oak seedlings planted in Central Park grew much faster than their siblings planted in sylvan locales like the Hudson Valley or Catskill Mountains.
Why? The researchers think it has something to do with the “urban heat island.” Cities are environmentally hotter than their surrounding countrysides because of the density of buildings which trap and store heat, and it looks like this phenomenon is having an effect on urban flora. ~AR
