Digital tools in urban forestry

Digital tools are used widely to plan and manage urban forests for sustainability. We conducted a scoping review to investigate how researchers use and envision integrating digital tools into urban forestry. Employing content analysis, we identified and analyzed which urban forest variables are studied, how decision-making is understood, and who this research empowers. Findings indicate that researchers predominantly use remote sensing tools to inventory and assess urban forests; tools are less often used in strategizing, monitoring, or planning for future scenarios. Researchers recognize municipal governments as loci of urban forestry decision-making, yet fail to identify entities capable of implementing findings. References to inclusive and participatory governance are infrequent. We find that reliance on a limited set of digital tools predetermines which aspects of urban forests are valued and whose perspectives are privileged. Additional emphasis on digital tools activating participation in urban forestry is needed to enhance urban forest sustainability.