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  • Urban Tree Drought Loss-Article

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    - An estimated 5.6 million trees in urban areas of Texas died as a result of the severe drought in 2011, representing as much as 10% of the total urban forest. - Removing all the dead trees is estimated to cost $560 million. - The loss of environmental and economic benefits from the dead trees, such as reduced energy costs and increased property values, is estimated at $280 million per year.

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    - An estimated 5.6 million trees in urban areas of Texas died as a result of the severe drought in 2011, representing as much as 10% of the total urban forest. - Removing all the dead trees is estimated to cost $560 million. - The loss of environmental and economic benefits from the dead trees, such as reduced energy costs and increased property values, is estimated at $280 million per year.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Als PDF, TXT herunterladen oder online auf Scribd lesen
    Markieren Sie unangemessene Inhalte
    22 Ansichten2 Seiten

    Urban Tree Drought Loss-Article

    Hochgeladen von

    guffinmac
    - An estimated 5.6 million trees in urban areas of Texas died as a result of the severe drought in 2011, representing as much as 10% of the total urban forest. - Removing all the dead trees is estimated to cost $560 million. - The loss of environmental and economic benefits from the dead trees, such as reduced energy costs and increased property values, is estimated at $280 million per year.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Als PDF, TXT herunterladen oder online auf Scribd lesen
    Markieren Sie unangemessene Inhalte
    von 2

    Droughttakestollonurbanforest,millionsofshadetreesdead

    ByPeteSmithandGretchenRiley,StaffForesters,Urban&CommunityForestryProgram,TexasForestService, CollegeStation,TX

    Lastyear,Texaswasravagedbyanunprecedented,unrelentingdroughtthatleftitsmarkon nearlyeverypartoftheLoneStarstate.InDecember,TexasForestServiceamemberofThe TexasA&MUniversitySystemissuedstudyresultsshowingthat100to500millionforesttrees mayhavesuccumbedtothedrought,butthisestimatedidnotincludetreesinurbanareas. InJanuary,agencyurbanforestersconducteda followupstudytodeterminetreemortalityinthe urbanforestsofthestate.Thetreesthatlineyour street,shadeyourhomeandgiveyouaquietplace torelaxatyourlocalparkallareconsideredpartof theurbanforest. TexasForestServiceestimatesthat5.6millionof thesetreesthatonceshadedhomes,streetsand parksincitiesandtownsacrossTexasnowaredead asaresultoflastyearsdrought. Theestimateisconsideredpreliminarybecausetreescontinuetodiefromthedrought.The figureislikelytoundercountthenumberoftreesthatultimatelywillsuccumb,whichmaynotbe knownuntiltheendof2012,ifever.Treesareremovedforavarietyofreasonseveryyear,so identifyingthosekilledbydroughtbecomesmoredifficultastimegoesby. Findings: Anestimated5.6milliontreesinurbanareaswerekilledasaresultofthedrought.This figuremayrepresentasmuchas10percentofthetotalnumberoftreesthatmakeupthe urbanforest. Becausethesedeadtreesareinpopulatedareas,manynowthreatenbuildings,roads, andwalkwaysandwillhavetoberemoved.Theestimatedcosttoremovealldeadtrees inthestudyis$560million. Shadetreesdomorethanjustbeautifyourcommunities.Theyalsoprovideeconomicand environmentalbenefitssuchascuttingenergybills,cleaningpollutionfromtheair, reducingstormwaterrunoff,storingcarbon,andboostingpropertyvalues.Theestimated lossineconomicandenvironmentalbenefitsisroughly$280millionperyear. ThestudyincludedallcitiesandtownsinTexaswiththeexceptionoftheTransPecosregion, wheretreemortalitywasdeterminedtobearesultofaFebruary2011coldsnap,notthe drought.EspeciallyhardhitareasincludethepineforestsofHarris,MontgomeryandWaller countiesinSoutheastTexas.

    February15,2012

    Page2

    Forestersreviewedsatelliteimagerytakenbeforeand duringthedrought(2010vs.Fall2011)toestimatethe numberofdroughtkilledtrees.Theycountedliveand deadtreesonrandomlyselectedplotsmadeupof bothprivateandpubliclands. Treeremovalcostswereestimatedusingcontractor ratesreportedbytheCityofHouston.Environmental andeconomicvalueswerecalculatedusingthe NationalTreeBenefitCalculator (http://www.treebenefits.com/calculator/)anda HoustonsMemorialParkin2010(above)andagainin statewideaverage8inchdiametertree. October2011(below)showingdroughtmortality. (BottomimagecourtesyofDigitalGlobe) Homeownersandpublictreemanagersshouldpay closeattentiontotreehealthasspringapproaches. Pineandcedartreesthathaveturnedbrownorred aredead;othershadetreesthathavelostbarkordo notleafoutinspringcanberemoved. Whenhiringacontractortoremoveadeadtree,usea CertifiedArboristthroughtheInternationalSocietyof Arboricultureandonethathasanappropriatelevel ofliabilityinsurance.Localelectricutilityproviders mayalsohaveprogramstoassisthomeownerswith removalofdeadtreesnearpowerlines. Itisuncertainhowlongthedroughtwillcontinue,butreplantingisagoodideaaslongasregular wateringofnewtreescanbeaccomplished.Eventhoughitmayhaverainedrecently,lowaquifer orlakelevelsmaymeanthatlocalwateringrestrictionscontinuetobeineffect.Theabilityto waterduringthesummeriscriticaltodecidingwhethertoplantnow.Fortipsonwateringyard treesduringdroughtconditions,ortowatchavideoonthetopic,gototheTexasDroughtlink ontheTexasForestServicewebsitehomepage(http://txforestservice.tamu.edu/). Replantingoffersanopportunitytodiversifythe landscape.Certainspeciesseemedtobeespecially vulnerabletotheextremedrought(i.e.wateroak, loblollypineandAshejuniper),sotakethe opportunitytotryotherdroughttolerantspecies. TheonlineTexasTreePlantingGuide (http://TexasTreePlanting.tamu.edu)provides recommendationsfromTexasForestService forestersonthebesttreestoplantinanyareaof thestate.Selectionoptionscanbetailoredtofita varietyofsiteconditionsandhomeowner preferences.

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