Southern Research Station Headquarters - Asheville, NC
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Issue 12
What Gulfport Lost
Putting a monetary value on ecosystem services
In May 2007, American Forests released the results of a 30,000-square-mile regional assessment on the impacts on tree canopy of Hurricane Katrina. Sponsored by the Forest Service, the study compared land cover in Louisiana and Mississippi from 2001 to 2006.
The most evident changes in tree canopy could be seen in the city of Gulfport, MS, which lost 13 percent of its tree canopy and gained 12 percent shrub cover—while gaining only 4 percent urban area. These changes indicate that hurricane damage rather than development caused the majority of the land cover changes.
American Forests estimated that the loss of tree canopy meant an additional 305,000 cubic feet of stormwater management for the city of Gulfport, valued in 2007 at $610,500. The loss of canopy also resulted in 28,000 pounds lost in air pollution control, valued at $68,000; and a 10,700-ton loss of carbon storage annually.
For more information on the study:
http://www.urbanforestrysouth.org/ resources/press/post-katrina-studyassesses- new-gulf-coast-region2019secological- impacts-and-fire-risks/
American Forests, the nation’s oldest nonprofit citizens’ conservation organization, is a world leader in planting trees for environmental restoration, a pioneer in the science and practice of urban forestry, and a primary communicator of the benefits of trees and forests.
For more information:
www.amfor.org/
