Announcements:
A special "thank you" to the speakers, attendees and sponsors for the success of the Urban Forestry Institute! Copies of several of the speakers' presentations and other handouts are available for downloading. For further information, please click here.
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Central Florida Community Tree Guide: Benefits, Costs, and Strategic Planting
Trees make our cities more attractive and provide many ecosystem services, including air quality improvement, energy conservation, stormwater interception, and atmospheric carbon dioxide reduction. These benefits must be weighed against the costs of maintaining trees, including planting, pruning, irrigation, administration, pest control, liability, cleanup, and removal. We present benefits and costs for representative small, medium, and large broadleaf trees and a conifer in the Central Florida region derived from models based on research carried out in Orlando, Florida. Average annual net benefits increase with tree size and differ based on location: $1 (public) to $10 (yard) for a small tree, $32 (public) to $51 (yard) for a medium tree, $96 (public) to $123 (yard) for a large tree; $7 (public) to $9 (yard) for a conifer. Two hypothetical examples of planting projects are described to illustrate how the data in this guide can be adapted to local uses, and guidelines for maximizing benefits and reducing costs are given.
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Tropical Community Tree Guide: Benefits, Costs, and Strategic Planting
Even as they increase the beauty of our surroundings, trees provide us with a great many ecosystem services, including air quality improvement, energy conservation, stormwater interception, and atmospheric carbon dioxide reduction. These benefits must be weighed against the costs of maintaining trees, including planting, pruning, irrigation, administration, pest control, liability, cleanup, and removal. We present benefits and costs for representative small, medium, and large trees in the Tropical region* derived from models based on in-depth research carried out in Honolulu, Hawaii. Average annual net benefits increase with tree size and differ based on location: $9 (public) to $30 (yard) for a small tree, $43 (public) to $79 (yard) for a medium tree, $70 (public) to $92 (yard) for a large tree. Two hypothetical examples of planting projects are described to illustrate how the data in this guide can be adapted to local uses, and guidelines for maximizing benefits and reducing costs are given.
* The Tropical region covers the Hawaiian and other Pacific Islands, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, and the very southern tip of Florida and the Florida Keys.
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Looking for grant opportunities?
Check out the Alliance for Community Trees link and help your community grow, one tree at a time.
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Try out this very user-friendly tool that provides useful tree information that anyone can access.
Tree Benefits Calculator
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