The Economic and Environmental Benefits of Urban Trees
Houston's regional forest is a vital part of the region's identity and provides many benefits to Houston's people, environment, and economy. This project has quantified and illustrated some of these features. But these trees don't exist in a vacuum; they are affected by the cumulative daily activity of the region's five million people. To ensure that the benefits of trees will be experienced by future generations, local and regional leaders of today must begin to develop long-range policies for maintaining and expanding tree cover.
The greatest threat to the overall tree population remains the land development process. Based on current practices, forest changes that are likely to occur include: decreased numbers, densities, and varieties of native trees, combined with a potential for an increased presence of pests and non-native trees.
This report also demonstrates the dominant contribution larger trees make to the overall value of the regional forest, making it important for regional leaders to consider policies that adequately protect this key portion of the resource. Examples of strategies to preserve trees currently in use in the region include: conservation easements, parkland dedication, land purchases for parks or flood control, conservation subdivision design, tree preservation ordinances, and a variety of educational opportunities for developers.
To ensure that the benefits of trees will be experienced by future generations, local and regional leaders of today must begin to develop long-range policies for maintaining and expanding tree cover.
Ultimately, large scale tree planting and other programs are needed if any increase in tree cover is to be realized. And it will be important to match these programs with the benefits expected from trees, since different species provide different values to the region.
For air quality improvement it may be important to consider species that generate lower emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as a key factor, while planting programs for energy conservation or heat island mitigation might favor species that generate maximum shade over a longer lifespan. Other factors include whether trees are to be planted on public or private property; whether the area is urban or rural; whether a species is native or non-native; what the maintenance requirements are; availability for planting; and cost.
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