Tree survival and growth are impacted by increased surface temperature on paved land

Trees are increasingly planted within paved environments in cities. However, little is known regarding growth responses of trees to different pavements. In this study, three popular urban forest tree species, pine (Pinus tabuliformis Carr.), ash (Fraxinus chinensis), and maple (Acer truncatum Bunge), were planted on different paved and unpaved plots (pervious brick pavement, impervious brick pavement, and no pavement as the control) at three different spacing (0.5 m × 0.5 m, 1.0 m × 1.0 m, and 2.0 m × 2.0 m apart). Results showed that pavement significantly increased surface temperature, changed soil moisture, and decreased survival rate of maple, and height and basal diameter increments of all three species, except for ash at the 0.5 m × 0.5 m spacing. There were significant interactions between pavement and spacing on tree height and basal diameter increments. Linear regression analysis showed that increased surface temperature was the primary contributor to decreased tree survival and growth. Therefore, alleviating the increased surface temperature induced by the pavement is important for guaranteeing tree survival and growth.