[Durham INC] Charlotte study on the value of trees

[Pat Carstensen]

Charlotte tree study unveiled
Tuesday, May 18, 2010, 8:58pm EDT  |  Modified: 


Charlotte attorney Rick Roti calls it “the analysis that almost never happened.”

The city had back-burnered a comprehensive tree-canopy study – actually a big-picture analysis of all of Mecklenburg County – because of budget cuts in 2008. But private funding helped finish the project.
On Tuesday, Roti and others gave a public presentation on the the Urban Ecosystem Analysis, a visual study of development patterns from 1985 to 2008. (A download of the report by American Forests can be found here. It’s an update of this study from 2003.)
During the 1985-2008 period, Mecklenburg lost about 33% of its trees, according to the study. Urban areas – including subdivisions, strip malls, parking lots and roads – grew 60%. The city lost about 49% of its trees, while urban areas grew 39%.

 

Now, how to value that: American Forests says trees naturally manage flooding from heavy rains. The roots of trees have the ability to absorb at least nine kinds of measured pollutants, including cadmium, chromium, lead and phosphorus.

 

 

The nonprofit estimates that the trees lost in the county would have helped to mitigate 252 million cubic feet of runoff. The removed trees could be valued at $504 million – if assessed as a method of stormwater detention (at a local engineering cost of $2 per cubic foot).
The study also measures trees’ benefits to air quality. Trees can remove carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, particulate matter and sulfur dioxide from the air we breathe. American Forests valued that natural filtration system at $8.8 million for the lost trees.
At the presentation, Roti plugged upcoming revisions to the Charlotte tree ordinance. The city’s environmental committee will hear an update on the controversial changes to the preservation rules on Monday.
City Councilwoman Nancy Carter told the audience Tuesday that Charlotte is getting greener, in great part due to efforts from the city staff.

 

“The reason why is because we are being pushed,” says Carter, who is vice chair of the environment committee.
The councilwoman places herself among the city’s most ardent tree supporters: “If you cut down a tree, you better plant two back, or Nancy Carter is going to be standing in your front yard.”

 

She also says she will take up a suggestion from an arborist in the audience: adoption of a tree-permit program that would restrict the removal of trees that provide a measurable benefit.


Read more: Charlotte tree study unveiled - Charlotte Business Journal 
 		 	   		  
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