Street Tree Inventory Report Hillsdale Neighborhood August 2016 Street Tree Inventory Report: Hillsdale Neighborhood August 2016
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Street Tree Inventory Report Hillsdale Neighborhood August 2016 Street Tree Inventory Report: Hillsdale Neighborhood August 2016 Written by: Kat Davidson, Angie DiSalvo, Julie Fukuda, Jim Gersbach, Jeremy Grotbo, and Jeff Ramsey Portland Parks & Recreation Urban Forestry 503-823-4484 [email protected] http://portlandoregon.gov/parks/treeinventory Hillsdale Tree Inventory Organizers: Jim Keiter Staff Neighborhood Coordinator: Jim Gersbach Data Collection Volunteers: Dennis Alexander, Richard Anderson, William Better, Ben Brady, Brian Brady, Julia Brown, Marty Crouch, Hannah Davidson, April Ann Fong, Lise Gervais, Margaret Gossage, Karen Henell, Jim Keiter, John Mills, Pat Ruffio, Jerry Sellers, Kristin Sellers, Mimi Siekmann, Haley Smith, Nancy Swaim, Mark Turner, Loris Van Pelt, Paige Witte, and Maggie Woodward Data Entry Volunteers: Michael Brehm, Nathan Riggsby, and Eric Watson Arborist-on-Call Volunteers: Will Koomjian GIS Technical Support: Josh Darling, Portland Parks & Recreation Financial Support: Portland Parks & Recreation Cover Photos (from top left to bottom right): 1) Colorful foliage on a golden Deodar cedar (Cedrus deodara 'Aurea'). 2) The deep green leaves of a quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides). 3) Unusual peeling bark on a young madrone (Arbutus menziesii). 4) A vivid fuchsia bloom on a magnolia (Magnolia sp.) 5) The developing cone of a rare China-fir Cunninghamia( lanceolata). 6) Unusually shaped leaves on a tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera). 7) The pendant foliage of a weeping giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum 'Pendulum'). 8) Multicolored scaly foliage on a variegated elkhorn cedar (Thujopsis dolobrata 'Variegata'). ver. 10/17/2016 Portland Parks & Recreation 1120 SW Fifth Avenue, Suite 1302 Portland, Oregon 97204 (503) 823-PLAY Commissioner Amanda Fritz www.PortlandParks.org Director Mike Abbaté Contents Key Findings .......................................... 1 About Portland’s Street Tree Inventory ..................... 3 Hillsdale Street Tree Inventory ........................... 5 Neighborhood Characteristics ......................... 5 Urban Forest Composition............................ 6 Species diversity and tree type composition ........... 6 Functional tree type .............................. 8 Size class distribution ............................. 9 Mature tree form distribution ..................... 10 Importance value................................ 10 Tree Condition .................................... 11 Planting Site Composition ........................... 13 Planting sites................................... 13 Right tree in the right place ....................... 14 Replacement Value ................................. 14 Environmental and Aesthetic Benefits .................. 15 The Future Forest of Hillsdale ........................ 16 Recommendations ..................................... 19 Next Steps: Tree Plans and Tree Teams .................... 21 References ........................................... 23 Appendices........................................... 25 A: Methods ....................................... 25 B: Street trees of Hillsdale by tree type ................. 27 C: Street trees of Hillsdale by size (map) ................ 30 D: Vulnerability to key pests (map)..................... 31 E: Young street trees (trees ≤ 3” DBH) (map)............. 32 F: Large street trees (trees > 24” DBH) (map) ............ 33 G: Poor and dead street trees (map) .................... 34 H: Planting site types (map) .......................... 35 I: Planting site sizes (map)............................ 36 Portland Parks & Recreation i Volunteers, guided by Portland Parks & Recreation Urban Forestry staff, collected data on all 5,113 street trees within the Hillsdale neighborhood to compile the neighborhood’s first complete street tree inventory. The data are being used to inform the creation of a Neighborhood Tree Plan to assist volunteers in caring for their community’s trees. ii Street Tree Inventory Report – Hillsdale Neighborhood 2016 Key Findings This report provides the results of a street tree inventory conducted in the Hillsdale neighborhood in 2016, along with Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) Urban Forestry staff recommendations for the Hillsdale tree team. Over the course of two work days, 23 volunteers contributed more than 114 hours collecting data on each of the neighborhood’s 5,113 street trees. URBAN FOREST STRUCTURE • Bigleaf maple is the most abundant street tree in Hillsdale. Plum, cherry, Douglas-fir, and pine are also common. One third of Hillsdale’s street trees are evergreen. The abundance of native trees and evergreen species provide ecosystem and wildlife benefits to Hillsdale’s urban forest. The species mix is reasonably diverse, although the predominance of the Acer (maple) and Prunus (cherry, plum) genera is of concern. Increasing diversity is encouraged to create a more resilient, sustainable urban forest. • Although evergreen conifers are better represented in Hillsdale than in the rest of Portland, broadleaf deciduous trees still dominate at 66%. Continued planting of evergreen trees is important to maintain year-round canopy benefits. • There are many young and mid-sized trees in Hillsdale. This provides an opportunity for inexpensive young tree maintenance activities that will reduce future costs and ensure the longevity of these trees. If young trees are properly cared for today, Hillsdale will have a healthier age distribution of street trees in the future. • Forty-six percent of Hillsdale’s street trees are large-form varieties. Large-form trees are necessary to maintain canopy cover and the benefits they provide for Hillsdale’s residents. Planting large available spaces will maximize tree canopy in Hillsdale's rights-of-way. TREE CONDITION • The majority of trees inventoried in Hillsdale are in fair or good condition. However, more than 27% of the trees that are rated poor are in the Rosaceae family. One out of every five trees in Hillsdale that is in poor condition (19%) belongs to the genus Prunus. PLANTING SITES • Approximately half of Hillsdale’s planting sites contain trees large enough for the site. In sites where trees are planted in Hillside, 69% are large sites. Planting small-form trees in these sites is a missed opportunity because larger trees contribute many times more benefits than do smaller ones. • More than 77% of sites where trees are found are unimproved, without curbs or sidewalks. Over 75% of these unimproved sites are large, without high-voltage wires, and are ideal for supporting the growth of large-form trees. URBAN FOREST VALUE AND BENEFITS • Hillsdale’s street trees produce an estimated $936,054 annually in environmental and aesthetic benefits. The replacement value of this resource is $22.5 million. Planting efforts focused on appropriately sized trees distributed across the neighborhood will ensure that future benefits are equitably distributed among all residents. Portland Parks & Recreation 1 Clockwise from top left: 1) Evergreen oaks like this silverleaf oak (Quercus hypoleucoides) from the American Southwest and Mexico are well adapted to hot, dry weather. As a result, they require less water than trees from climates with wetter summers. 2) Apple trees tend to be short-lived but this sprawling Yellow Bellflower apple (Malus pumila ‘Yellow Bellflower’) dates from the mid-19th century. It is the oldest grafted fruit tree known in Oregon, earning it a spot as Portland Heritage Tree #290. 3) At 82.8" DBH, this bigleaf maple (Acer macrophyllum) is the largest diameter street tree in Hillsdale. 4) Many rights-of-way within Hillsdale lack curbs or sidewalks but are rich in native plants that add canopy. Because trees in such areas are not managed the same way as along more developed streets, they were not counted in Portland’s citywide tree inventory. 2 Street Tree Inventory Report – Hillsdale Neighborhood 2016 About Portland’s Street Tree Inventory THE IMPORTANCE OF STREET TREES Street trees are an important public asset in urban environments, serving as a buffer between our transportation corridors and our homes while enhancing the livability of our city. As integral components of a community’s green infrastructure, street trees provide multiple economic, environmental, and social benefits such as cleaner air and water, cooler summer temperatures, safer streets, and increased property values. Unlike traditional, “grey” infrastructure, which begins to deteriorate the moment it is installed, the benefits that street trees provide increase over the lifetime of the tree, making their planting and maintenance one of the best investments a city and its residents can make. While street trees are only one component of Portland’s urban forest, they are particularly important because they are the trees that residents Urban forests are complex, living interact with most. Having adequate information resources that interact both about the street tree population allows a community to make informed decisions about species selection, positively and negatively with the planting, and maintenance priorities. Information on surrounding environment. They the location, condition, and diversity of the street tree produce multiple benefits and have population enables our communities to steward this resource and ensure its continued benefits into the associated management costs. In order future. Undertaking a street tree inventory is not only to fully realize the benefits, a sound an investment in the current and future well-being