Developed areas and wildland settings provide distinctly different opportunities and constraints with respect to restoration. In general, more intensive inputs such as irrigation and attention to individual trees may be warranted in developed areas (e.g., near home sites) but are often impractical or unnecessary for wildlands.
Developed areas at the edge of wildlands (the wildland/urban interface) pose an especially complex situation. While it may be possible to manage these areas intensively, as is typical of urban forests, tree management in this zone has the potential to significantly affect ecological processes in the adjacent wildlands. For example, planting nursery stock may introduce soil pathogens into native stands. Planting can also introduce nonlocal genotypes that may alter the genetics of the locally-adapted gene pool (see Genetic considerations in section 3.5.4. ). The surrounding forest also has the potential to influence plantings in the interface area. For example, deer or other animals may cause substantial browse damage to plantings. In general, plantings in the interface area should follow guidelines established for restoration in undeveloped forests to minimize potential adverse impacts.