Canberrans have been urged to avoid plane trees because of their pollen and instead plant more kurrajongs and yellow box.
Plane trees were planted in their thousands across Canberra and most recently one invasive tree, its roots imbedded in a septic system, became a source of a fierce community dispute, blocking the building of a new development complex in Manuka.
The latest urban tree species report from the ANU Fenner School of Research found that the current list of tree species needed revision as Canberra's urban environment had changed and climate change had turned the heat up on our "urban forests".
Using climate change modelling and a host of other data, researchers looked at which trees would survive and thrive in the future, as well as being suitable for places surrounded by different types of urban infrastructure, including pavement and high pedestrian traffic.
The report found that urban trees in many cities across south-east Australia suffer or die as a result of hydraulic failure - an inability to draw water up from its roots - and/or carbon starvation.
Ranked as most suitable for Canberra and the hot, dry years ahead, the kurrajong (Brachychiton populneus) emerged as the outright winner. In second place was the river-oak (Casuarina cunninghamiana), followed by the Arizona cypress (Cupressus arizonica).
