An arboreal qualitative and quantitative study was conducted in two closely located neighborhoods (Vila Vera and Jardim da Saúde) in the southeast region of São Paulo. In spite of geographical vicinity, both neighborhoods have very different land occupation characteristics. In Jardim da Saúde we found 1033 tree specimens, belonging to 72 distinct botanic species, with an average height of 8.07m. Caesalpinea peltophoroides Benth. was the most frequent species found (20,68% of the trees), followed by Largestroemia indica L. (with 7.48%) Most trees have a height of 8.50 m and above. The worst health threat was termite infestation which affected 8.33% of the specimens. Only 23.33% of the trees were planted in an area which enough surface permeability. 5.71% of the specimens had been pruned to prevent interference with electrical lines and crown-reducing pruning had been done in 7.74% of the trees. In Vila Vera we found limited space conditions in regards to the width of the sidewalk and also in regards to the predominant type of site utilization. We counted 178 trees belonging to 42 distinct botanic species, with average height of 6.31m. The most common species is Caesalpinea peltophoroides Benth. (which accounted for 24.71% of the specimens), followed by a Ligustrum lucidum W.T. Aiton (with 17.24%). In this neighborhood 42.70% of the trees had a height of less than 4.5m, 12.37% were in poor health due to termite infestation. Only 7.87% of the specimens where planted in an area which enough surface permeability, while 16.85% where located in totally paved areas. 3.38% had been pruned to avoid interference with electrical lines and 13.48% had been crown-reducing pruned. In Jardim da Saúde the average distance between trees was 16.85m, while in Vila Vera it was 38.68m. In other words, the average distance between trees is about 2.29 greater in Vila Vera than in Jardim da Saúde.
Urban trees; Arboreal inventory; São Paulo city
