Millions of urbanites never see primeval forests during their lives except for the old growth
forests found in urban parks. Unfortunately these forests are on the verge of disappearing
because arboreal reproduction is lost to human trampling and park administrators and urban
foresters do not maintain these natural forests. To aid urban foresters and park managers in
meeting the challenges research on old growth forests in urban parks is synthesized in terms
of historical ecology to introduce the methods utilized to reveal long-term forest composition
changes. The case study of three stands in Fairmount Park Philadelphia PA relates
pre-chestnut blight tree species densities and post-chestnut blight arboreal changes to fire
and visitor trampling. The information gained on how urban old growth forests have developed
and changed is used to develop restoration ecology based frameworks to restore species
composition and address challenges to forest survival including invasive species.
