About UTEN

 

The Urban Tree Ecophysiology Network (UTEN) is an international research collaboration focused on understanding how urban trees respond to environmental stress and climate change.

More than half of the world’s population lives in cities, where rising temperatures, air pollution, and urban heat island effects increasingly threaten human well-being and ecosystem function. Urban trees are essential for cooling cities, improving air quality, reducing energy consumption, and enhancing quality of life. However, urban environments expose trees to severe stressors, including limited rooting volume, high temperatures, poor soil conditions, and water stress, which reduce tree health, performance, and survival.

UTEN brings together researchers, municipalities, and stakeholders to investigate urban tree function above and below ground using standardized ecophysiological measurements and IoT-based monitoring systems. The network generates a shared international database that supports scientific research, public engagement, and evidence-based urban tree management.​​​​