Assessing Urban Forest Effects and Values After Hurricane Impacts in Louisiana
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Assessing Urban Forest Effects and Values After Hurricane Impacts in Louisiana Kamran K. Abdollahi, Ph.D. Urban Forestry • The art, science, and technology of managing trees and forest resources in and around urban community ecosystems for the physiological, sociological, economic, and aesthetic benefits trees provide society. (Helms, 1998) • HELMS, JOHN A., ed. 1998. The Dictionary of Forestry. P. 193. Bethesda, Maryland: The Society of American Foresters. What is Urban Forestry • Science and Technology • Urban Forest Ecosystem Based Biophysical • Biophysical (Biological Management of Sustainable Urban Forest and Physical) Ecosystem for Improving • Management the Quality of life in Urban • Sustainable and Rural Communities. • Quality of Life Example: Baton Rouge Urban Forest Ecosystem Analysis • Collaboration with the • Utilization of the Results USDA-FS – Management • Why we used UFORE/i-Tree – Research • Innovations: Bioproduct • Results Development from Wood • Potentials for enhancing Waste generated from the urban forest i-Tree Eco – Education – Outreach – Policy & Investment/Funding Implications at City, State, and National Levels Enhancing Urban Forestry Education, Research and Outreach Regional and National Climate Change Assessment (Science and Technology Integration into Urban Forestry Education) Baton Rouge Capital of Louisiana Historic Sites &Tourism Native Trees Major Port City Urban Green Infrastructure Post-Hurricane Gustav and the need for Baton Rouge Urban Forest Assessment DEAD TREES REPORTED "REMOVED" Large, 13000, 21% Small, 22000, 36% Mid, 26000, 43% Urban Forest Ecosystem Analysis for Baton Rouge, Louisiana • Project Team – Kamran K. Abdollahi, Ph.D. (Professor, SU Ag Center) – Zhu Hua Ning, Ph.D. (Professor, SU Ag Center) – Puskar Khanel, Ph.D. (Former Ph.D. Student- • Assistant Professor-Clemson University) – Thomas Legindeniye, Ph.D. (Former Student- • Assistant Professor, Mississippi State University ) – Collaborating Scientists: • David Nowak, Ph.D. (US Forest Service) • Robert E. Hoehn III, Ph.D. (US Forest Service) Graduate Students Other Collaborators Introduction • Trees in cities can make a significant contribution to human health and environmental quality. • Relatively little is known about the urban forest resource and its contribution to the local and regional society and economy. • Information on the structure and functions of the urban forest can be used to inform urban forest management programs and to integrate urban forests within plans to improve environmental quality in the city of Baton Rouge. • To better understand the urban forest resource and its numerous values, the U.S. Forest Service, Northern Research Station, developed the Urban Forest Effects (UFORE) model, which is now known and distributed as i-Tree Eco at www.itreetools.org Introduction • Urban forest structure is a measure of various physical attributes of the vegetation, including tree species composition, number of trees, tree density, tree health, leaf area, biomass, and species diversity. • Urban forest functions, which are determined by forest structure, include a wide range of environmental and ecosystem services such as air pollution removal and cooler air temperatures. • Urban Forest values are an estimate of the economic worth of the various urban forest functions. • To help determine the vegetation structure, functions, and values of trees in the City of Baton Rouge LA, a vegetation assessment was conducted (2010-2012). For this assessment, 0.1-acre field plots were sampled and analyzed using the UFORE model. This report summarizes results and values of: • • Forest structure • • Potential risk to forest from insects or diseases • • Air pollution removal • • Carbon storage • • Annual carbon removal (sequestration) • • Changes in building energy use Pre-Hurricane Gustav Baton Rouge Urban Forest • Tree Canopy Coverage Assessment : 55% in 1992 • Tree Canopy Coverage Assessment : 50% in 2001 • Only Street Tree Inventory was conducted for historic downtown area i-Tree-Eco Urban Forest Structure & Function • Understanding of ecological concepts and principles including the structure and function of ecosystems and especially the growth and performance of various tree species in urban/suburban settings, plant and animal communities common to urban forests, diversity, and disturbance. DATA COLLECTION iTree Eco Protocol • Field data were collected by the Southern University A & M College, Urban forestry graduate students; data collection took place during the leaf-on season to properly assess tree canopies. Within each plot, data included land-use, ground and tree cover, shrub characteristics, and individual tree attributes of species, stem diameter at breast height (d.b.h.; measured at 4.5 ft), tree height, height to base of live crown, crown width, percentage crown canopy missing and dieback, and distance and direction to residential buildings. Trees were recorded as woody plants with a d.b.h. greater than or equal to 1 inch. As many species are classified as small tree/large shrub, the 1-inch minimum d.b.h. of all species means that many species commonly considered as shrubs will be included in the species tallies when they meet the minimum d.b.h. requirement. In addition, monocot plants that reached minimum d.b.h. were also tallied in Baton Rouge (e.g. palm trees). PERMANENT PLOTS USDA FOREST SERVICE and iTree TRAINING • Knowledge of iTree Suite and ability to conduct and analyze inventory data to model future urban forest changes, assess green space, and monitor tree health. SU Urban Forestry GIS & Remote Sensing Laboratory Permanent Plots and Urban Tree & Shrub Species Inventory Permanent Plots and Measuring Urban Soil, Water and Air • Understanding of soil properties, biology, and processes, especially soil nutrients, soil compaction issues and mitigation, hydrology, water quality, and watershed function. Urban Forest Wetland Plots Urban Forest Ecosystem Analysis Using i-Tree Eco • i-Tree Suite • UFOR Inventory • UFOR GIS/GPS RESULTS Land Use Distribution in Baton Rouge Transport and Communication 5% Institutional 3% Industrial 10% Residential 46% Park and vacant 16% Agriculture and Forest 20% Land use Distribution LAND USE AND TREE POPULATION & TREE DENSITY • The highest density of trees Land Use occurs in forest-agricultural 500000 180 lands (158.7 trees/acre), 450000 160 400000 140 350000 • followed by residential (57.9 120 300000 100 trees/acre) and vacant land 250000 80 200000 and parks (52.6 trees/acre), 60 150000 Number of trees of Number institutions (31.3 trees 100000 40 Acre per Trees /acre), industrial (22.0 50000 20 trees/acre) and 0 0 transportation (24.7 trees / acre). Forest and Agriculture Land Use • The highest density of trees occurs in forest- agricultural lands – (158.7 trees/acre) • Tree Population – 205,000 Trees RESIDENTIAL LAND USE • TREE DENSITY – (57.9 trees/acre) • TREE POPULATION – 455,000 TREES Institutional Land Use • Institutional – Density: (31.3 trees /acre), – Population: 40,000 trees Transportation-Communication Land Use • Density (24.7 trees / acre) • Population: 48,000 trees Commercial and Industrial land use • Density: 22 tree/acre – 100,000 trees Total Number of Trees and % Canopy Cover • An analysis of trees in the city of Baton Rouge, LA, reveals that this area has about 1,036,175 trees with tree and shrub canopies that cover 44.6 % percent of the city. Tree Characteristics Baton Rouge Urban Forest 9.5% Live Oak 8.8 % Sweetgum 36.7% Other species 7% Loblolly pine 6.5% Pecan-Hickory 5.9% Bald cypress 4.4 % Tallow Tree 5.1% Southern Magnolia 5.1% Willow oak 5.4% Crape myrtle 5.6% Water Oak PERCENT NATIVE LIVE TREE SPECIES FOR THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE 90 83.3 80 70 60 50 Percent 40 30 20 10 8.2 4.4 4.1 0 0 0 0 North America Asia South America North America + Americas Americas + Unknown + native to North America and one other continent, excluding South America ++ native to North America and South America, and one other continent DBH Distribution top 10 Tree Species DBH Distribution 100 90 80 70 60 50 Percent 40 30 20 10 0 0.9-3 3.1-6 6.1-9 9.1-12 12.1-15 15.1-18 18.1-21 21.1-24 24.1-27 27.1-30 30+ d.b.h class(inches) Structural Values • Structural Values Based on the Tree itself (e.g., the cost of having to replace the tree with a similar tree). – ISA Method Replacement Value The structural value of the trees is estimated at $ 6.2 billion. Structural Value of top 10 Tree Species 1,400,000,000 1,200,000,000 1,000,000,000 800,000,000 600,000,000 400,000,000 Structural value Dollars) (US value Structural 200,000,000 0 Structural Value of other Tree Species in Baton Rouge ($ Millions) 1.2 1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 Structural Value of Tree Species in Baton Rouge ($ Million) 4.5 4 3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 Functional Values • Annual Functional Values: – Carbon Sequestration – Pollution Removal – Reduced energy costs Carbon Sequestration • Trees in Baton Rouge remove about 48,699.38 tons of carbon per year (178,354. tons CO2/year) Carbon Sequestration by Tree Species Carbon SEQ (mt/yr) TREE VALUE (U.S. $) 7000 1,400,000,000 6000 1,200,000,000 5000 1,000,000,000 4000 800,000,000 3000 600,000,000 2000 400,000,000 1000 200,000,000 /year) (dollars Value Sequestration(tons/year) 0 0 Carbon Storage and Sequestration by DBH class 7000 90 80 6000 STORAGE (kg) 70 5000 SEQ. (kg/yr) 60 4000 50 3000 40 Storage(tons) 30 2000 20 1000 10 Sequestrstion(tons per year) per Sequestrstion(tons 0 0 d.b.h. class (in) Carbon Storage Baton Rouge • Trees in Baton Rouge currently store about 2,029,342.2 tons of carbon Pollution Removal by Trees in Baton Rouge ($6.86 million annually) pollution removed value (us dollars) 450 4000000 400 3500000 350 3000000 300 2500000 250 2000000 200 1500000 150 1000000 100 value (dollars per year) (dollars value 50 500000 pollution removed (tons per year) per (tons removed pollution 0 0 O3 PM10 SO2 CO Annual savings(US$) in residential energy expenditures during heating and cooling Trees in Baton Rouge are estimated to reduce annual residential energy costs by $8.0 million annually.