Tacoma Community Science

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Project 1 - Urban Heat and Tree Health

Tacoma Sooty Bark Disease Vulnerability

Help study the impacts of urban heat on tree health

Air temperature data collected at 3pm in July 2018 and shared by the City of Tacoma. Learn more in the Tacoma Community Forestry Story Map.

Are the impacts of Sooty Bark Disease worse in hotter areas of Tacoma?

Together we can research and learn about the impacts on our communities.

Sooty Bark Disease

Tree Disease

Sooty Bark Disease weakens and kills trees. The tree disease has been found in many areas of the Pacific Northwest.

Fungus

Sooty Bark Disease is caused by the fungus Cryptostroma corticale. This fungal species grows inside the tree and releases spores after causing the outer bark to flake off.

Susceptible Trees

Your help is needed to determine what trees are susceptible to this disease. So far, research has found the fungus on the following species:

Horse Chestnut
Bigleaf Maple
Sycamore Maple
Norway Maple
Pacific Dogwood

All of these species are commonly planted throughout Tacoma.

Worsened by Climate Change

The disease is likely emerging as an issue now because of recent longer and hotter droughts.

More Information

Learn more about Sooty Bark Disease at the following webpages:

“The impacts of this disease on our forests and communities are likely to get worse as summer droughts become longer and hotter in the Pacific Northwest”

"Unfortunately, some neighborhoods may be more impacted than others"

Joey Hulbert

Program Director

Get Involved

Tacoma Maple Survey

1. Sign up to visit a street

2: Visit these blocks

3: Add maple trees to iNaturalist

Field Guide

PDF (22MB)

Previous Methods to get involved (Method 2 still active)

Tacoma Street Tree Vulnerability Assessments

Below are two methods to get involved. You can contribute to improve our understanding of the disparities of urban forest benefits and the vulnerability of our communities.

Method 1:
Visit These Trees

Visit these trees and look for sooty bark disease.

Method 2:
Identify Vulnerable Streets

Walk these streets and map trees to identify vulnerable areas.

Mostly Complete Most of the trees identified in Method 1 were visited in 2022

Still active You can walk these streets and document all street trees

"Together we can collect data to help decision makers cultivate a healthy, equitable urban forest in Tacoma"