Asia Dowtin, professor of urban forestry at Michigan State University, is among a new group of appointees to the National Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council.

The council oversees the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service’s National Urban and Community Forestry Program and provides recommendations to the secretary of Agriculture and other applicable federal agencies. The council is made up of professional, academic, citizen and governmental volunteers. It developed the National Ten-Year Urban and Community Forestry Action Plan (2016-2026) and will create a new 10-year plan to be implemented starting in 2027.

Dowtin's research explores the relationships between urban canopy structure, spatial context and plant-water interactions to broaden our understanding of the influence of species composition and surrounding land use on urban forest function.