[MCN] Urban forest earns its keep via support of residents' property value

[Lance Olsen]

California 'street tree' benefits valued at $1 billion
USDA FOREST SERVICE - PACIFIC SOUTHWEST RESEARCH STATION
PUBLIC RELEASE: 14-JUN-2016
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" They even bolster property values and home sale 
prices to the tune of $838.94 million.

"39 of the 49 studied communities were 
over-reliant on a single species, potentially 
making their urban forest susceptible to a 
species-specific disturbance or pathogen."
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Albany, Calif. - Streets lined with gold? Not 
exactly, but a new report from the U.S. Forest 
Service's Pacific Southwest Research Station 
estimates trees lining Californian streets and 
boulevards provide benefits to municipalities and 
residents worth $1 billion.

"Structure, Function and Value of Street Trees in 
California, USA," published in this month's issue 
of "Urban Forestry and Urban Greening," is the 
most up-to-date and comprehensive inventory of 
"street trees" within California. Using municipal 
inventories analyzed in i-Tree, a computerized 
tree inventory and management suite, researchers 
were able to create a composite picture of not 
only the number of California's street trees, but 
also their species, size, location and associated 
benefits.

With an estimated 9.1 million trees lining 
California's streets and boulevards, it averages 
to about one street tree for every four 
residents. But according to the recently 
published study, room remains for another 16 
million street trees to be planted, if resources 
allowed.

"Sometimes it's easy to think of trees along city 
streets as mere aesthetics, or worse, a nuisance 
with falling leaves and limbs or uprooting 
sidewalks," said research forester and lead 
author Greg McPherson. "But what our study shows 
is that these trees have a real monetary benefit 
to the municipalities and residents who care for 
them.
"
From carbon storage ($10.32 million) and removal 
of air pollutants ($18.15 million) to 
interception of rainfall ($41.5 million) and 
energy savings from both heating and cooling 
($101.15 million), California's street trees are 
paying big dividends. They even bolster property 
values and home sale prices to the tune of 
$838.94 million.

"We've calculated for every $1 spent on planting 
or maintaining a street tree, that tree returns, 
on average, $5.82 in benefits," McPherson said. 
"These trees are benefiting their communities 24 
hours a day, 365 days a year."

The report also highlights trends and tree 
demographics McPherson and his colleagues say 
they hope will guide urban foresters in future 
decisions regarding what trees to plant and where.

For example, while the number of street trees 
have increased from 5.9 million in 1988, tree 
density has actually fallen from 105 to 75 trees 
per mile, nearly a 30 percent drop. And while 
statewide species diversification appears 
respectable with only one species claiming more 
than 10 percent relative abundance (London 
planetree at 10.5 percent), individually, 39 of 
the 49 studied communities were over-reliant on a 
single species, potentially making their urban 
forest susceptible to a species-specific 
disturbance or pathogen.

"Municipal foresters can use data from this study 
to see how their trees compare to other cities in 
their climate zone or in the state," McPherson 
said. "It might help allocate resources, whether 
it be to increase planting to address low density 
or species diversification, increase pruning to 
manage predominately younger trees for structure 
and form, control pests and disease or 
intensively manage older trees so as to not lose 
them prematurely."
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"Just remember, this is not your grandfather's 
atmosphere. Things are different now, and will 
get even more-so in the coming years   Š   "

http://blogs.agu.org/wildwildscience/2015/12/02/the-coming-winter-part-two-the-elephant-in-the-room/

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