A practical approach to assessing structure, function, and value of street tree populations in small communities

This study demonstrates an approach to quantify the structure, benefits, and costs of street tree populations in resource-limited communities without tree inventories. Using the city of Davis, California, U.S., as a model, existing data on the benefits and costs of municipal trees were applied to the results of a sample inventory of the city’s public and private street trees. Results indicate that Davis maintained nearly 24,000 public street trees that provided $1.2 million in net annual environmental and property value benefits, with a benefit–cost ratio of 3.8:1. The city can improve long-term stability of this resource by managing maintenance, new plantings, and stand rejuvenation on a city zone basis.

[1]  L. M. Anderson,et al.  Influence of Trees on Residential Property Values in Athens, Georgia (U.S.A. ) : A Survey based on Actual Sales Prices , 1988 .

[2]  E. Mcpherson,et al.  Tree Guidelines for San Joaquin Valley Communities , 1999 .

[3]  G. Guntenspergen,et al.  Composition and structure of an urban woody plant community , 1984 .

[4]  Richard Wilson Harris,et al.  Arboriculture: Integrated Management of Landscape Trees, Shrubs, and Vines , 1991 .

[5]  James R. Simpson,et al.  Air Pollutant Uptake by Sacramento's Urban Forest , 1998, Arboriculture & Urban Forestry.

[6]  R. Rowntree,et al.  Using Structural Measures to Compare Twenty-Two U.S. Street Tree Populations , 1989, Landscape Journal.

[7]  Wen Quan Sun,et al.  Quantifying Species Diversity of Streetside Trees in our Cities , 1992, Arboriculture & Urban Forestry.

[8]  E. Gregory McPherson,et al.  Assessing the Benefits and Costs of the Urban Forest , 1992, Arboriculture & Urban Forestry.

[9]  S. Maxwell Valuation of rural environmental improvements using contingent valuation methodology: a case study of the Marston Vale Community Forest project , 1994 .

[10]  Arthur M. Winer,et al.  Composition and dominance in Los Angeles Basin urban vegetation , 1984 .

[11]  E. Mcpherson,et al.  Benefit-Cost Analysis of Modesto's Municipal Urban Forest , 1999, Arboriculture & Urban Forestry.

[12]  L. M. Anderson,et al.  LIABILITY FOR DAMAGE CAUSED BY HAZARDOUS TREES , 1986 .

[13]  E. Gregory McPherson,et al.  Expenditures Associated with Conflicts between Street Tree Root Growth and Hardscape in California, United States , 2000, Arboriculture & Urban Forestry.

[14]  Ralph A. Sanders,et al.  Diversity in the street trees of Syracuse, New York , 1981 .

[15]  W. Bossert,et al.  The Measurement of Diversity , 2001 .

[16]  E. Mcpherson,et al.  Quantifying urban forest structure, function, and value: the Chicago Urban Forest Climate Project , 1995, Urban Ecosystems.

[17]  E. Mcpherson,et al.  Equations for Predicting Diameter, Height, Crown Width, and Leaf Area of San Joaquin Valley Street Trees , 2001, Arboriculture & Urban Forestry.

[18]  James R. Simpson,et al.  Western Washington and Oregon community tree guide : benefits, costs and strategic planting , 2002 .

[19]  James R. Clark,et al.  A Model of Urban Forest Sustainability , 1997, Arboriculture & Urban Forestry.

[20]  N. A. Richards,et al.  Diversity and stability in a street tree population , 1983 .