Resource Bulletin Nrs

An analysis of trees in Washington, D.C. reveals that this city has about 1,928,000 trees with canopies that cover 28.6 percent of the area. The most common tree species are American beech, red maple, and boxelder. The urban forest currently store about 526,000 tons of carbon valued at $9.7 million. In addition, these trees remove about 16,200 tons of carbon per year ($299,000 per year) and about 540 tons of air pollution per year ($2.5 million per year). The structural, or compensatory, value is estimated at $3.6 billion. Information on the structure and functions of the urban forest can be used to improve and augment support for urban forest management programs and to integrate urban forests within plans to improve environmental quality in the Washington, D.C. area.

An analysis of trees in New York City reveals that this city has about 5.2 million trees with canopies that cover 20.9 percent of the area. The most common tree species are tree of heaven, black cherry, and sweetgum. The urban forest currently stores about 1.35 million tons of carbon valued at $24.9 million. In addition, these trees remove about 42,300 tons of carbon per year ($779,000 per year) and about 2,202 tons of air pollution per year ($10.6 million per year). The structural, or compensatory, value is estimated at $5.2 billion. Information on the structure and functions of the urban forest can be used to improve and augment support for urban forest management programs and to integrate urban forests within plans to improve environmental quality in the New York City area.

A report on the forest inventory of West Virginia conducted in 1999-2001 by the Forest Inventory and Analysis unit of the Northeastern Research Station. Discusses the current condition and changes from previous inventories for forest area, timber volume, tree species, mortality and growth and removals. Graphics depict data at the state level and by county where appropriate.

This book demonstrates how the inclusion of nature in engineering decisions results in innovative solutions that are economically feasible, ecologically viable, and socially desirable. It advances progress toward nature-positive decisions by protection and restoration of ecosystems and respect for ecological boundaries. The topic of this book is an active area of academic research, and leading companies are including goals associated with ecosystem services in their sustainability plans. This book is the first collection of methods and applications that explicitly include the role of nature in supporting engineering activities and describes the role that ecosystems play in supporting technology and industry. It describes approaches, models, applications, and challenges for innovation and sustainability that will be useful to students and practitioners.

Forests have diverse values and functions that produce not only material products, but also non-material services. The health functions provided by forests have been used for a very long time, but they have only been emphasized in many fields of society in recent years. The rapid increase in urbanization and the problems of stress, sedentary occupations, and hazardous urban environmental conditions due to modern life may be factors that place great demand on forests’ health functions. Scientific research has shown that there are various psychological and physiological human health benefits of exposure to forests, parks, and green spaces. This collection of papers highlights up-to-date findings and evidence to reveal the beneficial effects of forests on human and public health. The findings provided here can be implemented in practice and policy using forests and nature for human and public health.