Journal Article
Evaluating pollution‐related damage and restoration success in urban forests with participatory monitoring and digital tools
Verónica Reyes‐Galindo; Juan Pablo Jaramillo‐Correa; Karina Carrasco Nava; Alejandra Elizabeth De‐la‐Rosa‐González; David Flores Flores; Mauricio Martínez; Luis Alberto Monroy‐De‐la‐Rosa; Miguel Ángel Morelos Zamora; Billy Emmanuel Ramírez Morales; Oliver Tanui Ramírez Morales; María del Pilar Rodríguez; Maurilio Salazar Zamora; Claudio Zamora Callejas; Rafael Zamora Callejas; César Zamora; Tonatiuh Zamora; Victor Alejandro González‐Camacho; Erick Rebollo; Ricardo Torres‐Jardón; Ana Wegier; Alicia Mastretta‐Yanes
Conservation Biology · Vol. 37, Issue 5 · 2023
Abstract
Peri‐urban forest monitoring requires indicators of vegetation damage. An example is the sacred fir ( Abies religiosa ) forests surrounding Mexico City, which have been heavily exposed to tropospheric ozone, a harmful pollutant, for over 4 decades. We developed a participatory monitoring system with which local community members and scientists generated data on ozone tree damage. Santa Rosa Xochiac rangers (13) used the digital tool KoboToolBox to record ozone damage to trees, tree height, tree ages, tree condition, tree position, and whether the tree had been planted. Thirty‐five percent of the trees ( n = 1765) had ozone damage. Younger trees had a lower percentage of foliage damaged by ozone than older trees ( p p R 2 c = 0.43, R 2 m = 0.27). Involving local communities facilitated forest monitoring and using digital technology improved data quality. This participatory system can be used to monitor forest condition change over time and thus aids restoration efforts driven by government or local communities’ interests, facilitating local decision‐making.