Impact of Forest to Urban Conversion on Human Health (12-DG-11132544-372)

Urbanization is the primary cause of tree cover loss in the southeastern United States and is associated with major impacts on stream hydrology and water quality. The loss of tree cover is linked with higher incidence of some diseases, particularly arbovirus-related (i.e. mosquito vectored) such as West Nile Virus (WNV).

Forested watersheds are characterized by stable hydrology and clean water; however, as tree cover declines during development, stream velocity, discharge, and concentrations of pollutants climb dramatically.  These changes increase the likelihood of sewer overflows and formation of stagnant pools of polluted water, conditions which are favorable for mosquito habitat. However, there is confusion concerning the influence of different types and configurations of forests due to a lack of detail in tree cover characterization in many previous reports. We used GIS to examine how variation in urban tree cover characteristics relates to hydrology and water quality and, finally, to incidence of WNV in mosquitoes and humans. We will transfer our findings to K-12 students, the general public, teachers, and managers in order to increase awareness of the role of urban trees in disease protection and provide suggestions for managing urban forests for reduction of WNV infection risk to humans.

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