Abstract: Systematic community investigation into street trees in Shenyang was carried out using typical sampling method. Results showed that there were 2291 trees in the investigated area, belonging to 13 families, and 24 genera. The forest coverage was 15.13%. Trees with DBH(diameter at breast height)<0.25m and DBH between 0.25～0.5m accounted for 43.0% and 17.9% of the total, respectively. Trees with height <4.6 m accounted for 49.8% of total, and trees with height between 4.6～10.7m accounted for 43.3%. The healthy status of the trees was above middle level. These demonstrated that street trees in Shenyang were in a stable phase. However, the diversity index of the trees was not very high and structure of the trees was simple. Some suggestions and strategies were put forward for street tree species selection and configuration, based on current natural condition in Shenyang and the criteria for the selection of street tree species.

Key words: Heavy metal, Pollution protection, Greening tree species