Tree and Soil Research Fund for Landscape Architecture Grant Program

Tree and Soil Research Fund for Landscape Architecture Grant Program is sponsored by TREE Fund. This program supports research in areas of interest to the landscape architecture community, with a special focus on trees and the soils that support them in urban landscapes. This could be relevant for wetland restoration projects that involve soil design and modification.

Tree and Soil Research Fund for Landscape Architecture Grant Program – TREE Fund Supported research will include the following: the design and specification of trees and soils in urban landscapes; propagation and nursery practices that impact the establishment and long term growth of trees; improving species diversity; tree root and canopy structure improvement; soil and drainage design and modification; tree planting practices; tree planting space design; tree establishment and maintenance practices; and planting soil management and maintenance.

This list is by no means inclusive, and we will consider proposals that may address many other topics related to the landscape architecture community. TREE Fund welcomes research proposals and applications from a wide range of academic and technical disciplines, of both a qualitative and a quantitative nature.

TREE Fund does not fund the following types of projects, and will not accept applications for such work: Projects that are primarily municipal tree surveys or assessments; Studies focused on traditional forestry and timber production, agroforestry, and ecology and conservation of forested and other natural areas, Product testing primarily for the benefit of the company that manufactures the product.

Last Day to Request Letter of Intent: Announcement of Grant Recipient: TREE Fund will accept completed applications only between August 1 and October 1, 2025. To apply, fill out an application on our online portal – by clicking here. Letters of Intent (LOI) need to be completed before September 15, 2025.

Your LOI must clearly identify the Principal Investigator and Institution who will be contracted for the work should your application be approved. TREE Fund will evaluate whether your LOI concept meets all of our application criteria and is deemed to have a reasonable possibility of success given the year’s research priorities. If and only if your LOI is approved, TREE Fund will send you a notification and open the application to you.

TREE Fund determinations on whether an LOI meets the application criteria are final and not negotiable. An instructional video on our Grants is available on our YouTube Page . Application Requirements can be found here .

It is TREE Fund’s explicit desire that research findings eventually be freely and widely available to any and all parties who may benefit from the author’s work. At the same time, TREE Fund recognizes the importance of academic and professional journal publications and will work with grant recipients to ensure that findings are disseminated in a manner that is cognizant of all parties’ schedules and needs.

Recipients should inform TREE Fund when funded research findings are published or presented at conferences so that these accomplishments can be widely publicized. Recipients should also recognize the support provided by TREE Fund in their articles or presentations related to the funded project.

Recipients are strongly encouraged to publish findings to relevant professional journals, i.e. Arboriculture and Urban Forestry, Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, Arboricultural Journal, Trees: Structure and Function, Journal of Horticultural Science and Biotechnology, Plant Pathology, Hortscience, Horticultural Science, Sustainable Development, Landscape and Urban Planning, Journal of Urban Health, Environment and Urbanization, Urban Ecosystems, etc. Past Tree and Soil Research Fund for Landscape Architecture Grant Program Awards 2021 was awarded to Dr. Rebecca Abney with University of Georgia (UGA) Research Foundation, Inc. on project titled, “Utilizing biochar to improve community tree vault soils and tree health and to reduce watershed contamination.

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