Pacific Southwest

Title: Temperate Interior West community tree guide: benefits, costs, and strategic planting

Author: Vargas, Kelaine E.; McPherson, E. Gregory; Simpson, James R.; Peper, Paula J.; Gardner, Shelley L.; Xiao, Qingfu

Date: 2007

Source: Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-206. Albany, CA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station. 108 p

Station ID: GTR-PSW-206

Description: 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 deciduous trees and coniferous trees in the Temperate Interior West region derived from models based on indepth research carried out in Boise, Idaho. Average annual net benefits increase with tree size and differ based on location: $12 (public) to $24 (yard) for a small tree, $30 (public) to $45 (yard) for a medium tree, $49 (public) to $63 (yard) for a large tree, $22 (public) to $25 (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.

Keywords: Ecosystem services, Temperate Interior West, urban forestry, benefit-cost analysis

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Citation

Vargas, Kelaine E.; McPherson, E. Gregory; Simpson, James R.; Peper, Paula J.; Gardner, Shelley L.; Xiao, Qingfu  2007.  Temperate Interior West community tree guide: benefits, costs, and strategic planting.   Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-206. Albany, CA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station. 108 p.