I am working with a graduate student to conduct a research survey concerning trees and low impact development stormwater management practices.  We are especially seeking practicing landscape architects to complete the survey. This is a national research survey conducted by Virginia Tech to assess perceptions and practices regarding the use of trees in LID development sites. Your contribution will help identify and rank research priorities in this area. Full information is below and thank you.

The link to the survey is: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/TreesandLID

Hello,

My name is Tom Martin and I am a Ph.D. candidate in the Horticulture Department at Virginia Tech.  I am writing to request your participation in a national survey of professionals working in stormwater management concerning the use and preservation of trees in low impact development stormwater management sites. This survey is a component of my dissertation research and I would be very appreciative if you would take a few minutes to complete this survey. It is fairly brief—about 15 or 20 minutes.

Trees are often described in LID literature as important contributors to stormwater mitigation practices, yet, ironically, trees are often removed or damaged to create these very same stormwater systems.  Urban foresters and arborists are reporting that large valuable trees are often removed to make way for stormwater management structures.

From discussions with a variety of professionals it is clear that numerous impediments exist to using trees for stormwater management purposes in low impact development.  Impediments stem from policy and economics as well as biological and physical conflicts. Therefore, we are exploring and documenting these issues through a short research survey. We hope that the valuable information that you provide by participating in this survey will help direct future research and guide new ways to better incorporate the potential benefits of trees in LID sites.

Who should take the survey: Anyone who works with land development that involves stormwater management mitigation including: stormwater engineers, employees of planning and engineering departments, environmental consultants, developers, landscape architects, arborists and consulting arborists, landscape contractors and horticulturists, and other professionals.

To take the survey, visit this link:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/TreesandLID

 This is a completely voluntary survey and you may exit the survey at any time. Thank you very much for your help—it is greatly appreciated!

If you have any questions or concerns about this research, please contact me (Tom Martin at thmarti2@vt.edu) or Susan Day (sdd@vt.edu).