Abstract Though the urban forest resource has been the subject of numerous studies quantifying ecosystem benefits and assessing tree canopy cover, little is known about the managers of this resource – the urban foresters. Literature from more well-established professions shows they routinely reflect on their own profession to identify opportunities and areas for improvement. A few examples of topics addressed by these reflections are recruitment of youth into the profession, monitoring of workforce conditions and employment trends, as well as comprehensive self-reflection. To address this gap in the urban forestry profession, we studied municipal employees whose primary responsibilities directly involve planning, managing, and implementing urban trees and greenspaces. The purpose was to determine who is managing urban forests, and if the professional identity of urban foresters could be outlined. Survey topics included usage of professional support mechanisms such as certifications, conferences, and memberships. Less than half of respondents were arborists or urban foresters. Over half (55 %) of respondents were from locations that were being managed by non-tree professionals such as public administrators, civil engineers, landscape architects, and urban planners. This group had low rates of participation in tree-centric education, certifications, conferences, or memberships, suggesting that urban forest expertise may not be their priority. A regression analysis showed a distinction in the usage of professional support mechanisms between urban foresters and all other professionals, including arborists. We identified the support mechanisms urban foresters use to define their professionalism in lieu of a certification tailored to them. Recommendations include creating mechanisms for non-tree professionals to develop tree-centric skills and knowledge, and creating a certification for urban foresters.

中文翻译：

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美国城市林务员的职业认同

摘要 尽管城市森林资源一直是量化生态系统效益和评估树冠覆盖率的众多研究的主题，但人们对这种资源的管理者——城市林务员知之甚少。来自更成熟职业的文献表明，他们经常反思自己的职业，以确定改进的机会和领域。这些反思所涉及的主题的一些例子是招聘青年进入该行业、监测劳动力条件和就业趋势，以及全面的自我反思。为了解决城市林业专业中的这一差距，我们研究了市政雇员，他们的主要职责直接涉及城市树木和绿地的规划、管理和实施。目的是确定谁在管理城市森林，以及是否可以概述城市林务员的职业身份。调查主题包括使用专业支持机制，如认证、会议和会员资格。不到一半的受访者是树艺师或城市林务员。超过一半 (55%) 的受访者来自由非树木专业人士管理的地点，如公共管理人员、土木工程师、景观设计师和城市规划师。该群体参与以树木为中心的教育、认证、会议或会员资格的比例较低，这表明城市森林专业知识可能不是他们的首要任务。回归分析显示城市林务员和所有其他专业人士（包括树艺师）在专业支持机制的使用方面存在差异。我们确定了城市林务员用来定义他们的专业精神的支持机制，而不是为他们量身定制的认证。建议包括为非树木专业人员创建以树木为中心的技能和知识的机制，并为城市林务员创建认证。