Trees
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
| Current Status | Proposed, not adopted. |
| Potential Implementing Agencies | Parks and Forest Service |
| Potential Founding/Sponsoring Organizations | The Foundation for Urban Forest Management |
Analysis -- Future Potential and Adoption
Located in both street rights-of-way and parks, trees are an important part of the public infrastructure in many communities. Trees provide stormwater infiltration, carbon sequestration, energy use reduction and other ecosystem services value. They have also been demonstrated to increase both home values and biodiversity in many communities. Despite this important role, most cities do not have comprehensive databases of trees, but many of those cities that do have a tree inventory are publishing it.
Though no generally accepted data standards for trees, and this is another opportunity for an organization. In 2002 the USDA Forest Service developed a white paper to address proper tree data collection and management. There is also a new partnership of arboriculture researchers and practitioners, the Urban Tree Growth and Longevity (UTLG) Working Group that has the potential to develop some standards in this domain.
Additional Resources
- USDA Community Tree Inventory White Paper - http://www.umass.edu/urbantree/inventorywhitepaper.pdf
- Urban Tree Growth and Longevity (UTGL) Working Group - http://www.urbantreegrowth.org/goals.html