Northeast Community Tree Guide: Benefits, Costs, and Strategic Planting by E
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United States Department of Agriculture Northeast Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station Community General Technical Report PSW-GTR-202 August 2007 Tree Guide Benefits, Costs, and Strategic Planting E. Gregory McPherson, James R. Simpson, Paula J. Peper, Shelley L. Gardner, Kelaine E. Vargas, and Qingfu Xiao The Forest Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture is dedicated to the principle of multiple use management of the Nation’s forest resources for sustained yields of wood, water, forage, wildlife, and recreation. Through forestry research, cooperation with the States and private forest owners, and management of the National Forests and National Grasslands, it strives—as directed by Congress—to provide increasingly greater service to a growing Nation. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. Authors E. Gregory McPherson is a research forester, James R. Simpson is a forest meteorologist, Paula J. Peper is an ecologist, Shelley L. Gardner was a forester, and Kelaine E. Vargas is a landscape architect, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station, Center for Urban Forest Research, Department of Plant Sciences, MS-6, University of California, Davis, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616; and Qingfu Xiao is a research hydrologist, Department of Land, Air, and Water Resources, University of California, Davis, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616. Gardner is currently with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Office of Communications, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250. Northeast Community Tree Guide: Benefits, Costs, and Strategic Planting by E. Gregory McPherson, James R. Simpson, Paula J. Peper, Shelley L. Gardner, Kelaine E. Vargas, and Qingfu Xiao U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station Albany, CA August 2007 Contributing Organizations USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station Center for Urban Forest Research Davis, CA Department of Land, Air, and Water Resources University of California Davis, CA Sponsoring Organizations USDA Forest Service State and Private Forestry Urban and Community Forestry Program i GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PSW-GTR-202 Abstract McPherson, E. Gregory; Simpson, James R.; Peper, Paula J.; Gardner, Shelley L.; Vargas, Kelaine E.; Xiao, Qingfu. 2007. Northeast community tree guide: benefits, costs, and strategic planting. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-202. Albany, CA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station. 106 p. Trees make our cities more attractive and provide many ecosystem services, including air quality improvement, energy conservation, stormwater interception, and atmospheric carbon dioxide reduction. These benefits must be weighed against the costs of maintaining trees, including planting, pruning, irrigation, administra- tion, pest control, liability, cleanup, and removal. We present benefits and costs for representative small, medium, and large deciduous trees and coniferous trees in the Northeast region derived from models based on indepth research carried out in the borough of Queens, New York City. Average annual net benefits (benefits minus costs) increase with mature tree size and differ based on location: $5 (yard) to $9 (public) for a small tree, $36 (yard) to $52 (public) for a medium tree, $85 (yard) to $113 (public) for a large tree, $21 (yard) to $33 (public) for a conifer. Two hypothetical examples of planting projects are described to illustrate how the data in this guide can be adapted to local uses, and guidelines for maximizing benefits and reducing costs are given. Keywords: Ecosystem services, Northeast, urban forestry, benefit-cost analysis. ii What’s in This Tree Guide? This tree guide is organized as follows: Executive Summary: Presents key findings. Chapter 1: Describes the guide’s purpose, audience, and geographic scope. Chapter 2: Provides background information on the potential of trees in Northeast communities to provide benefits and describes management costs that are typically incurred. Chapter 3: Provides calculations of tree benefits and costs for the Northeast region. Chapter 4: Illustrates how to estimate urban forest benefits and costs for tree planting projects in your community and tips to increase cost-effectiveness. Chapter 5: Presents guidelines for selecting and placing trees in resi- dential yards and public open spaces. Appendix 1: Recommends additional resources for further information. Appendix 2: Contains tables that list annual benefits and costs of repre- sentative tree species at 5-year intervals for 40 years after planting. Appendix 3: Describes the methods, assumptions, and limitations asso- ciated with estimating tree benefits and costs. Glossary of terms: Provides definitions for technical terms used in the report. References: Lists references cited in the guide. This guide will help users quantify the long-term benefits and costs associated with proposed tree planting projects. It is available online at http://cufr.ucdavis. edu/products. The Center for Urban Forest Research (CUFR) has developed a computer program called STRATUM to estimate these values for existing street and park trees. STRATUM is part of the i-Tree software suite. More information on i-Tree and STRATUM is available at www.itreetools.org and the CUFR Web site. iii GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PSW-GTR-202 Northeast Community Tree Guide: Benefits, Costs, and Strategic Planting The green infrastructure is a significant component of communities in the Northeast region. iv Northeast Community Tree Guide: Benefits, Costs, and Strategic Planting Executive Summary This report quantifies benefits and costs for small, medium, and large deciduous Benefits and costs trees and one coniferous tree in the Northeast region: the species chosen as repre- quantified sentative are Kwanzan cherry, red maple, Japanese zelkova, and eastern white pine, respectively (see “Common and Scientific Names” section). The analysis describes “yard” trees (those planted in residential sites) and “public trees” (those planted on streets or in parks). We assume a 66 percent survival rate over a 40-year timeframe. Tree care costs and mortality rates are based on results from a survey of municipal and commercial arborists. Benefits are calculated by using tree growth curves and numerical models that consider regional climate, building characteristics, air pollut- ant concentrations, and prices. The measurements used in modeling environmental and other benefits of trees are based on indepth research carried out in the Borough of Queens, New York City. Given the Northeast region’s large and diverse geographical area, this approach provides first-order approximations. It is a general accounting that can be easily adapted and adjusted for local planting projects. Two examples are provided that illustrate how to adjust benefits and costs to reflect different aspects of local planting projects. Large trees provide the most benefits. Average annual benefits increase with Average annual mature tree size: benefits • $26 to $30 for a small tree • $69 to $79 for a medium tree • $125 to $147 for a large tree • $54 to $56 for a conifer Benefits associated with energy savings and increased property value account for the largest proportion of total benefits in this region. Reduced stormwater runoff, lower levels of air pollutants, and less carbon dioxide in the air are the next most important benefits. Energy conservation benefits differ with tree location as well as size. Trees located opposite west-facing walls provide the greatest net heating and cooling energy savings. Reducing heating and cooling energy needs reduces carbon dioxide emissions and thereby reduces atmospheric carbon dioxide. Similarly, energy sav- ings that reduce pollutant emissions at power plants account for important reduc- tions in gases that produce ozone, a major component of smog. The average annual costs for tree care range from $20 to $40 per tree. Costs • $22 (yard) and $20 (public) for a small tree • $33 (yard) and $27 (public) for a medium tree v GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PSW-GTR-202 Northeast Community Tree Guide: Benefits, Costs, and Strategic Planting • $40 (yard) and $34 (public) for a large tree • $33 (yard) and $23 (public) for a conifer Planting is the greatest cost for trees (annualized to $10 to $15 per tree per year). Tree pruning is the next highest expense ($4 to $18 per tree per year). Tree care expenditures tend to increase with mature tree size because of increased labor and equipment costs. Average annual net Average annual net benefits (benefits minus costs) per tree for a 40-year period benefits