by Jo Ann McCracken-Redding
We love the shapes and colors of native tree leaves and needles – oaks, maples, poplars, and pines, to name a few. We love sheltering from sun and shower under their welcoming canopies. We love watching bird families hustle to build nests in their branches.
But there’s a lot more to love about how hard native trees work for us – overall, more effectively than their non-native counterparts. They keep us, our land, air, and water healthier, and they save us money!
The Work of One Willow Oak on Main Street
On the map section above, the tree symbol at the intersection of E. McBee and Main in Greenville links to the profile of a willow oak (Quercus phellos). Here are the estimated annual benefits this one tree provides:
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365 lbs. of carbon sequestered from the atmosphere through photosynthesis and converted into stored biomass in roots, stems, and leaves
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4,301 lbs. of carbon stored in the tree’s biomass (stems, branches, leaves, and roots) and held away from the atmosphere, helping to mitigate climate change
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15,769 lbs. of carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere to be stored as carbon
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2.5 lbs. of pollutants removed — trees can remove up to 60% of air pollution at street level, including ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and particulate matter such as ash, dust, pollen, and smoke
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44 cubic feet of runoff avoided, reducing erosion and flash flooding
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For the 7,000 trees tracked, the combined air, stormwater, and carbon benefits amount to about $30,000 in annual savings.
The City of Greenville is using TreePlotter™ software (which generated the map featured here) to manage more than 7,000 trees on public land. This tool, based on USDA Forest Service calculations, evaluates tree performance by species, size, condition, and location.
Explore Greenville’s interactive Community Map, where dots represent individual trees, color-coded by species. Scroll down to see canopy coverage maps produced from USDA flyovers, with layers showing where in the city canopy is being lost or gained.
Want to measure your own trees? Visit iTree for free use of their measurement tool.
Photo credit: Willow oak (Quercus phellos), Michael Wolf, NC State Extension Plant Toolbox.
Content source: City of Greenville website, Our Tree Canopy.
