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The Shortleaf Pine tree is native to North America; it is not federally protected, but it is protected in Illinois as an endangered species. The Tamarack tree is native to North America; it is not federally protected, but it is protected in Maryland as an endangered species, and in Illinois and Rhode Island as a threatened species. The Rock Elm is native to North America; it is not federally protected, but it is protected in Illinois as an endangered species, and in New York and Ohio as a threatened species. The American Elm, Canada Plum and Northern Pin Oak trees are native and not endangered. The English Elm, London Plane, Norway Maple, European Linden and Ginkgo trees are invasive and not endangered.
Without going up to each tree and examining it, it was difficult for our group to determine how common each tree was in Central Park. We did identify two English Elms, one well inside the park, one on the bordering street. Although not noted or identified multiple times, we did encounter what we believed to be a few London Plane and Short Leaf Pine trees throughout the exploration.
There was markedly less diversity amongst street vegetation than that in the park and this is due to two reasons. The first is that the street exists primarily as a thoroughfare for humans and is therefore paved and carved into a grid in order to facilitate the movement of traffic and business. This utilitarian landscape does not provide much room for nature, and so there are far fewer trees on the street than there are in the park. Unsurprisingly, less trees equal less room to diversify amongst species. The second reason is complimentary to the first one, and this is that the park is meant to simulate a pastoral-rural landscape and provide an escape from the industrialism that pervades the rest of the city. From a purely aesthetic viewpoint, diversity is attractive; if everything looked exactly the same, there would be no impetus to wander throughout the park. As land protected from development, the park is also a massive space dedicated to trees, allowing for the incorporation of many more species than the roads mentioned above, which have only small allotments for trees.
The primary usage of a space dictates how an environment forms, and particularly how nature is incorporated into an infrastructure. There is less diversity in the street because not only because there is less room but because the street was not built for trees, and the conditions it creates are not suitable for all species. The Park, on the other hand, has many different “environments” that can accommodate both more trees and more types of trees.
Central Park is representative of a diverse range of species; there were many types of vegetation there. Whether they are natural to the habitat or contribute to a healthy ecosystem is a different question, but statistically speaking, the park has a lot of different types of trees. It could, I suppose have more, since it’s such a large area, but to the eye of anyone but a trained arborist the Park seems to sustain an adequate amount of diversity.
The streets of the Upper East Side do offer a decent amount of shade, for what it’s worth. The trees tend to be one of a few types of trees (elm, linden or gingko) that can be easily contained/maintained and are able to thrive despite heavy pollution. It may seem silly to celebrate the fact that there are trees there, but many neighborhoods in New York City have no trees at all.
