Ecosystem Services
Many of us are concerned our environment and being “green” seems all the rage. Well believe it or not, your yard tree can help show how “green” you are. The US Forest Service has worked hard of the past couple of decades to help quantify the benefits of urban trees. We use the term Ecosystem Services to collectively describe these benefits which include: reducing storm water runoff and soil erosion, increasing property value, reducing energy use (cooling and heating), improving air quality and sequestering carbon.
Breakdown of Your Trees' Benefits
For example a 20 inch diameter sugar maple ( Acer saccharum) growing in a Morgantown WV residential setting can provide approximately $194 of overall benefits every year 1. As this tree continues to grow to 25 inches, it can provide $253 in annual benefits 1.
1 Source: National Tree Benefit Calculator ( http://www.treebenefits.com).
About this chart:
This chart shows the breakdown of the $194 benefits of the 20" diameter sugar maple to be:- Stormwater--$61.87
- CO2--$6.60
- Air Quality--$11.91
- Natural Gas--$34.36
- Electricity--$19.37
- Property Value--$59.91