Treemendous The various benefits of trees in the places we live

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TreemendousThe various benefits of trees in the
places we live

• Mike Maddox
• Horticulture Educator
• Rock Co. UW-Extension _at_ Rotary Gardens
• ISA Certified Arborist

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Urban Forest

• Trees, shrubs, and other vegetation in and around
  cities, villages, and other places we live
• 81 of Wisconsins population live within the
  urban forest

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The Benefits of Trees

• Environmental
• Economic
• Social Physiological
• Challenges

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Environmental Benefits

• Countering the urban heat island effect
• Shading surfaces
• Evapotranspiration
• 20F lower temperature on a site from trees.
• 35F lower hard surface temperature under tree
  shade than in full summer sun.
• 27 decrease in summer cooling costs with trees.
• 242 savings per home per year in cooling costs
  with trees.

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Environmental Benefits

• Wind Control
• Trees can reduce cold air infiltration and
  exchange in a house by maintaining a reduced wind
  or still area.
• 50 wind speed reduction by shade trees yielded
  7 reduction in heating energy in winter.
• 50 per year decrease in heating costs from tree
  control of wind.

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Environmental Benefits

• Hydrology
• Development increases hard, non-evaporative
  surfaces and decreases soil infiltration --
  increases water volume, velocity and pollution
  load of run-off -- increases water quality
  losses, erosion, and flooding.
• Community tree and forest cover intercepts,
  slows, evaporates, and stores water through
  normal tree functions, soil surface protection,
  and soil area of biologically active surfaces.
• 18 of growing season precipitation intercepted
  and evaporated by all trees.
• For every 5 of tree cover area added to a
  community, run-off is reduced by approximately 2
  

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Environmental Benefits

• Hydrology
• Community trees and forests act as filters
  removing nutrients and sediments while increasing
  ground water recharge.
• 37,500 tons of sediment per square mile per year
  comes off of developing and developed landscapes
  -- trees could reduce this value by 95 (336,000
  annual control cost savings with trees).
• 47 of surface pollutants are removed in first 15
  minutes of storm -- this includes pesticides,
  fertilizers, and biologically derived materials
  and litter.
• 10,886 tons of soil saved annually with tree
  cover in a medium-sized city.

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Environmental Benefits

• Noise Abatement
• 7db noise reduction per 100 feet of forest due to
  trees by reflecting and absorbing sound energy
  (solid walls decrease sound by 15 db)
• Trees provide "white noise," the noise of the
  leaves and branches in the wind and associated
  natural sounds, that masks other man-caused
  sounds.
• Glare Reduction
• Trees help control light scattering, light
  intensity, and modifies predominant wavelengths
  on a site.
• Trees block and reflect sunlight and artificial
  lights to minimize eye strain and frame lighted
  areas where needed for architectural emphasis,
  safety, and visibility.

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Economic Benefits

• Community trees and forests provide a business
  generating, and a positive real estate
  transaction appearance and atmosphere.

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Shopping District Settings
District 1 No trees or accessory vegetation
District 3 With trees and accessory vegetation
Urban ForestBenefits in Retail
Environments, Wolf, NUCFAC
District 2 With trees, no accessory vegetation
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Economic Benefits

• Place Perception
• Amenity and Comfort
• Interaction with Merchants
• Quality of Products
• Maintenance and Upkeep
• Trees are cues for caring and quality

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Economic Benefits

• Patronage Behavior
• travel time, travel distance
• duration of visits, frequency of visits
• willingness to pay for parking
• Trees increase market potential

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Patronage Behavior
Time You Would Spend in this Place?
70
No Trees
60
Trees
50
Trees/Access.
40
response
30
20
10
0
up to 30 min
30 to 59 min
1-2 hours
gt 2 hours
time period
Similar response patterns for other behaviors -
time of travel - distance of travel- how often
would return to place
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Economic Benefits

• Product pricing
• higher willingness to pay for all types of goods
• higher in districts with trees
• Trees affect consumer spending

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Product Pricing
75
70
65
No Trees
Trees
60
Trees/Access.
55
50
45
40
Mean Stated Price
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
convenience goods - 50 -
shopping goods - 39 -
specialty goods - 35 -
Goods Categories
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experience atmosphereplace
1. Place Perceptions
Amenity and Comfort Interaction with
Merchants Quality of Products Maintenance and
Upkeep
2. Patronage Behavior
travel time, travel distance duration
frequency of visits willingness to pay for
parking

• 3. Product Pricing

higher willingness to pay for all types of
goods higher in districts with trees - 12
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Additional Economic Benefits

• 9,500 higher sale values due to tree cover.
• 2,675 increase in sale price when adjacent to
  tree green space as compared to similar houses
  200 feet away from green space.

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Additional Economic Benefits

• 4.20 decrease in residential sales price for
  every foot away from green space.
• 27 increase in development land values with
  trees present.
• 19 increase in property values with trees.
• 9 increase in property value for a single tree.

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Social Benefits

• lower levels of fear
• less violent aggressive behavior
• fewer reported crimes
• more self-discipline for girls
• reduced ADHD symptoms
• better neighbor relationships
• better coping with lifes challenges
• F. Kuo, Social Ecology of Arb,May 2003, J of
  Arboriculture

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Chicago Public Housingwith without green
spacesF. Kuo Wm. Sullivan
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Wellness and Healing

• Surgery Recovery
• shorter post-operative stays
• less use of potent pain drugs, better attitude
• Lifestyle Recovery
• attentional fatigue restored
• relationships and career coping

Cimprich, B. 1992. Attentional Fatigue
Following Breast Cancer Surgery. Research in
Nursing and Health 15, 199-207
Roger Ulrich. Texas A M. Studies on nature and
medical recovery
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Healing Gardens- institutional design -
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U of WA Hospitals Surgery Pavilion
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Americans travel 2.3 billion miles per day on
urban freeways highways
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Physiological Health Benefits

• In laboratory research, visual exposure to
  settings with trees has produced significant
  recovery from stress within five minutes, as
  indicated by changes in blood pressure and muscle
  tension.
• Dr. Roger S. Ulrich Texas AM University

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Roadside Landscape Traffic Stress Response

• Roadside Features - Driving Simulations
• Forest, golf course, strip mall
• Physiological Response
• E.g. heart beat, blood pressure
• Results
• Nature scenes - return to baseline faster, less
  response to new stressors

Parsons, R., Tassinary, L., G., Ulrich, R. S.,
Hebl, M. R., and M. Grossman-Alexander. 1998. The
view from the road Implications for stress
recovery and immunization. Journal of
Environmental Psychology 18113-140.
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Workplace Nature Views

• Well-being
• desk workers without view of nature reported 23
  more ailments in prior 6 months
• Job Satisfaction
• less frustrated and more patient
• higher overall job satisfaction and enthusiasm

Kaplan, R. 1993. The Role of Nature in the
Workplace. Landscape and Urban Planning, 26
193-201.
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employee health the corner officebottom-lin
e benefits
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Canopy Coverage
City of Milwaukee, Wisconsin
16 Existing Coverage
40 Projected Coverage
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What can I do?

• Plant more trees (properly!)
• Private property
• Public property
• Hospitals
• Schools
• Business districts

• Stay informed
• New varieties
• New pest pressures
• New information
• LEGISLATION!
• Support local urban forestry efforts
• Municipal foresters
• Volunteer Groups

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TreemendousThe various benefits of trees in the
places we live

• Mike Maddox
• Horticulture Educator
• Rock Co. UW-Extension _at_ Rotary Gardens
• ISA Certified Arborist

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