Asia Dowtin, PhD

For nearly 20 years, the global urban population has exceeded that of rural areas. The environmental impacts have often been deleterious, and include elevated air temperatures, increased stormwater volumes, heightened flood risk, compromised air quality, reduced wildlife habitat, and related impacts on human health and well-being. This talk will review the historical emergence and current application of urban trees as a nature-based solution to urbanization, drawing on lessons learned from research, policy, and practice in the U.S. and beyond. 

Speaker Biography

Asia Dowtin, PhD– Associate Professor, Urban Forestry, Department of Forestry, Michigan State University 

Asia L. Dowtin, PhD is an Associate Professor of Urban Forestry in the Michigan State University Department of Forestry. Her work explores the relationships that exist between urban forest structure, spatial context, and water and nutrient cycling in metropolitan areas. Through this work, she aims to broaden our understanding of the influence that species composition, related physical tree traits, and surrounding land use have on urban forest function and ecosystem service provision. A major goal of Dowtin's work is to utilize this knowledge to inform the development of urban forest management plans, specifically aspects of these plans that are intended to optimize the yield of ecosystem services provided by urban trees. Her work at Michigan State University includes research, teaching, and extension related to urban and community forestry, with her extension efforts largely focused on creating educational and workforce development programming for K-12 students and adult learners. She holds a B. in Meteorology from the State University of New York College at Oneonta, and an MS and PhD in Physical Geography from the University of Delaware.