Street Tree Inventory Report Roseway Neighborhood November 2015 Street Tree Inventory Report: Roseway Neighborhood November 2015 Written by: Kat Davidson, Nikhilesh Desai, Angie DiSalvo, Jeremy Grotbo, Jeff Ramsey and Maya Rommwatt Portland Parks & Recreation Urban Forestry 503-823-4484 [email protected] http://portlandoregon.gov/parks/treeinventory Roseway Tree Inventory Organizers: Catherine Clark, Joshua Kruse, Evelyn Roeloffs, Kym Setzer, and Caitlin Shelman Staff Neighborhood Coordinator: Nikhilesh Desai and Maya Rommwatt Data Collection Volunteers: Dennis Alexander, Tom Badrick, Jean Borgerding, Kris Calvert, Isaac Calvert-Russell, Erik Carr, Amy Chomowisz, Meredith Connolly, Matthew Downs, Karen Gifford, Star Hogeboom, Nathan James, Crystal Johnson, Ben Jones, James Keiter, Christy Kelley, Joana Kirchhoff, Kyle Lempinen, Heather McGeachy, Sonja Mundt, Emma Patton, Ezra Pratt, Sandra Rafalik, Kristin Rodriguez, Sky Sloane, Jess Tyler, Loris Van Pelt, Samantha Wolf, and Aaron Wolf Data Entry Volunteers: Ben Brady, Carl Burdick, Tsung Hwa Sophia Burkhart, Cameron Buswell, Megan Cohen-Doyle, Debbie Danner, JoAnne DiCarlo, Aiden Forsi, Meara Gordanier, Lisa Goshe, Hansford Hair, and Kyle Lempinen Arborist-on-Call Volunteers: Genine Dake, Jim Gersbach, Fred Nilsen, and Damon Schrosk GIS Technical Support: Josh Darling and Jeremy Grotbo, Portland Parks & Recreation Financial Support: Portland Parks & Recreation Cover Photos (from top left to bottom right): 1) The fruit and foliage of a fringe tree (Chionanthus retusus). 2) A rare Southern beech (Nothofagus obliqua). 3) An unusual sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum) in flower. 4) Fall color beginning to show on the leaves of a tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica). 5) Close-up of Turkish hazel (Corylus colurna) foliage. 6) A Seiju Chinese elm (Ulmus parvifolia 'Seiju') displays its interesting form. 7) Volunteers collecting data during an inventory work day. 8) The foliage of a crested Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica 'Cristata'). ver. 10/16/2015 Portland Parks & Recreation 1120 SW Fifth Avenue, Suite 1302 Portland, Oregon 97204 (503) 823-PLAY Commissioner Amanda Fritz www.PortlandParks.org Director Mike Abbaté Table of Contents Key Findings .......................................... 1 About Portland’s Street Tree Inventory . 3 Roseway 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 and Stocking Level ........... 13 Planting sites................................... 13 Stocking level .................................. 14 Right tree in the right place ....................... 14 Replacement Value ................................. 15 Environmental and Aesthetic Benefits .................. 16 The Future Forest of Roseway . 17 Recommendations ..................................... 21 Next Steps: Tree Plans and Tree Teams .................... 23 References ........................................... 25 Appendices........................................... 27 A: Methods ....................................... 27 B: Street trees of Roseway by tree type.................. 29 C: Street trees of Roseway by size (map) ................ 32 D: Vulnerability to key pests (map)..................... 33 E: Young street trees (trees ≤ 3” DBH) (map)............. 34 F: Large street trees (trees > 24” DBH) (map) ............ 35 G: Poor and dead street trees (map) .................... 36 H: Planting site types (map) .......................... 37 I: Planting site sizes (map)............................ 38 J: Available street tree planting sites (map) ............... 39 K: Priority street tree planting sites (map) ............... 40 Portland Parks & Recreation i Volunteers, guided by Portland Parks & Recreation Urban Forestry staff, collected data on all 4,324 street trees within Roseway 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 guide volunteers in caring for their community’s trees. ii Street Tree Inventory Report – Roseway Neighborhood 2015 Key Findings This report provides the results of a street tree inventory conducted in Roseway neighborhood in 2015, along with Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) Urban Forestry staff recommendations for the Roseway tree team. Over the course of four work days, 59 volunteers contributed more than 260 hours collecting data on each of the neighborhood’s 4,324 street trees. URBAN FOREST STRUCTURE • Roseway’s street tree population is dominated by maples, cherries and plums, and does not meet recommended species diversity guidelines. While 105 tree types were found in this inventory, only two families, Rosaceae and Sapindaceae, account for nearly half of all trees. Lack of species diversity leaves Roseway’s street tree population vulnerable to pests, pathogens, and effects of a changing climate. • 92% of trees are broadleaf deciduous trees. More evergreen trees are needed to provide year round benefits and create a more resilient, sustainable urban forest. • There are many young trees in Roseway – nearly half of all trees are under 6” in diameter at breast height. This is likely the result of successful tree planting efforts in recent years and 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, Roseway will have a healthier age distribution of street trees in the future. • Only 21% of Roseway’s street trees are large form varieties. Large form trees are necessary to increase canopy cover and the benefits they provide for Roseway’s residents. Planting the estimated 926 large available spaces identified in this inventory will maximize tree canopy in Roseway's rights-of-way. TREE CONDITION • The majority (89%) of trees inventoried in Roseway are in fair or good condition, however, 45% of the trees that are rated poor are in the Rosaceae family. PLANTING SITES AND STOCKING LEVEL • Only 67% of street tree planting sites have trees in Roseway. Planting efforts should focus on the largest sites with no overhead high voltage wires first, as large form trees will provide the most long- term benefits to the neighborhood. Roseway has over 1,600 sites identified for planting. • Large planting sites in Roseway would be better utilized if planted with large form trees. Nearly three-quarters of all large sites are planted with trees that are too small for the site. This represents a missed opportunity for tree canopy. URBAN FOREST VALUE AND BENEFITS • Roseway’s street trees produce an estimated $564,179 annually in environmental and aesthetic benefits. The replacement value of this resource is $12.2 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) Cherry (Prunus spp.) is the most abundant tree type in Roseway. The tree pictured here is unusually tall because it wasn't grafted onto dwarf root stock to limit its height, like many other cherry trees are. 2) At 63.0" DBH, this tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima) is the largest diameter street tree in Roseway. 3) Large form trees like this tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) provide significantly more benefits than small form trees and will thrive in larger planting sites. 4) Evergreen broadleaves such as this oak (Quercus sp.) are very uncommon in Roseway and help improve canopy diversity. 2 Street Tree Inventory Report – Roseway Neighborhood 2015 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