CitiesGoGreen - February 2009 - (Page 20) Benefits of Trees 1. Trees help purify the air we breathe by absorbing pollutants. 2. Trees increase property values and improve the tax base in communities. 3. Trees improve neighborhood appeal, attracting businesses, shoppers and homeowners. 4. Trees cool our cities and towns by reducing heat generated by buildings and paved surfaces. 5. Tree shade, properly placed, can save an average household up to $250 annually in energy costs. 6. Trees reduce the amount of pollutants in sewer systems, saving communities millions of dollars in water treatment costs. 7. Trees soften harsh building lines and large expanses of pavement, making urban environments much more pleasant. 8. Trees provide habitat for birds and other wildlife, maintaining a balance with nature even in urban areas. 9. Trees reduce the amount of waterborne pollutants that reach streams and rivers. 10. Trees reduce levels of domestic violence and foster safer, more sociable neighborhood environment. —MiniFlier from USDA Forest Service Urban Forestry Program Coordinators A systematic urban forestry program is necessary to gain full benefit from trees. Each US state and territory has an urban forestry program coordinator who offers technical assistance to cities and towns in these ways: • Ordinance development and samples of ordinances • Urban forestry management including tree inventory tools • Selecting, planting and maintaining trees correctly • Pest and disease controls • Grants and funding guidance • Help in becoming a Tree City USA Urban forestry coordinators can be accessed via the National Arbor Day Foundation. ity seriously goes beyond planting more trees. It means proactively managing and maintaining them to maximize their useful lives and the benefits they provide over time. The greatest benefit-producing ability of trees comes during maturity, when their canopies are the largest,” said Joe Gregory, Coordinator of Urban Forestry Services for Davey Resource Group. It makes sense. The larger and healthier the tree, the more capacity it has to sequester carbon and collect and retain particulate matter from the air. Researchers have demonstrated that 100 healthy, mature trees remove 37 tons of carbon dioxide and 248 pounds of other pollutants annually. Strategically planting new trees and caring for existing ones in highly polluted areas will, in the long term, reduce costs related to these issues. heating and cooling bills, reduce energy consumption and atmospheric carbon dioxide. The US urban forest sequesters approximately 800 million tons of carbon. Trees clean the water A raindrop hits the pavement, sidewalk, or other surface, and flows. It picks up air and ground level pollutants, metals, oil, gas, fine particles of trash. It gains momentum and joins with other raindrops, which have picked up their own pollutants. They tumble along into streams, creeks, rivers, lakes, and reservoirs—into the water supply. Trees can help reduce stormwater runoff. Their leaves filter the rush of rain so that instead of pelting, compacting, and rolling off soil, it filters through slowly. The tree’s twigs, bark, trunk and roots intercept the rain, with its pollutants, and filter them out before they reach the water supply. Cities that preserve trees along stream, creek, river, lake, and reservoir corridors have cleaner water and lower storm water costs. In addition, it makes economic and environmental sense to design new storm water systems with less gray hardscape and with more trees and plants. One hundred mature trees can catch about 139,000 gallons of rainwater per year. Water supplies are cleaner with trees in place to reduce soil erosion, reduce storm water runoff, and keep streams and waterways healthy by moderating their temperatures. Trees save energy Trees reduce our heating and cooling needs and thereby help prevent carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere. They do this by: • Shading, which reduces the amount of radiant energy absorbed and stored by built surfaces. • Evapotranspiration, which converts liquid water in leaves to vapor, cooling the air. • Reducing the velocity of wind, which slows the infiltration of outside air into inside spaces. By using trees as a tool for energy conservation, municipalities can lower 20 February/March 2009 http://www.coloradotrees.org/benefits/Identified%20Benefits%20of%20Community%20Trees.pdf http://www.fs.fed.us/na/morgantown/macucf/toolkit/MiniFlier.pdf http://www.arborday.org/programs/treeCityUSA/forestryCoordinators.cfm http://www.arborday.org/programs/treeCityUSA/forestryCoordinators.cfm http://www.CitiesGoGreen.com
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