Background

1. StreetTree Inventory of the Canal Creek Watershed By A. Smart Student Mentored By Dr. Deidre DeRoia Results Conclusions Background The results showed that the street trees have a quantifiable benefit for Aberdeen Proving Ground. A tree population should not be made out of more than ten percent of one tree species (Miller & Miller, 1991). The Callery pears exceeded this standard.. The trees shaded the buildings from the wind and sun, cutting down on the heating and cooling costs. The trees in the seventy acres that were considered saved the base over 13,000 dollars a year. Planting trees with a large shade area around the buildings. Every year, the trees have taken out over one million gallons of water out of the environment preventing soil erosion. Benefits include avoiding soil replacement costs of 34,145 dollars and helping meet U.S. Environmental Protection Agency future regulations restricting the amount of sediment allowed to run into the Chesapeake Bay from government owned land. An aspect also important to the environment is trees absorb carbon, taking it out of the atmosphere. The trees considered in this study absorbed over five million pounds of carbon a year. A plan can be made to maximize the benefits and improve the health of the city as a whole. Urbanization of an area can be devastating to the environment in and around a city. Because of the loss of plant life, there can be greater soil erosion, and emissions from gasoline-powered machines can degrade air quality if left unbalanced by air cleaning techniques. Planting street trees and creating a maintenance plan is crucial to maintaining the health of an urban area. The purpose of this study was to quantify the benefits of the trees. The amount of carbon sequestered and the prevention of soil erosion (Nine Mile Run Watershed Association, 2007), as well as energy savings (Coder, 1996) can be determined from the data. were collected, recorded, and used in geospatial analysis . The information was then gathered was entered into a Microsoft Access ™ database and then imported into a free shareware software, i-Tree™. Graph 1: The species distribution of the top ten species shows that one exceeds the ideal percentage of ten percent. The other species represented less than ten percent. Works Cited Miller, R.H & Miller, R.W. (1990). Planting survival of selected street tree taxa. Journal of Arboriculture, 17(7). 185-191. Nine Mile Run Watershed Association, (2007). Watershed street tree inventory: Understanding our trees as a resource. Pittsburg, PA: Shananan, B. Raupp, M.J., Cumming A.B., & Raupp E.C. (2005). Street tree diversity in Eastern North America and its potential for tree loss to exotic borers. Aboriculture & Urban Forestry, 32(6), 297-304. University of Georgia. (October 1996). Identified benefits of community trees and forests. Athens, GA: Coder, K.D. Methods and Materials Results (continued) GPS Location of Trees and Size The aspects that were considered in this study were population distribution, energy savings, storm water run-off, and carbon sequestration, as well as to get a map of all the trees (Picture 1). All of the species observed had less than the ideal ten percent representation, with one exception (Graph 1). The three benefit areas that were considered are shown in Graph 2. This adds up for a total of 51,275 dollars per year for all the trees in the seventy acre area that was considered. All the trees can be given a value based on species and size on how much they would sell for in a nursery. Graph 3 shows the replacement costs for the top five most populace species . If all the trees were to be sold, they would be worth approximately 6.7 million dollars. The definition used was any tree within seventy-five feet of the road centerline or within fifty feet of a building. Once a tree was identified as a street tree, the diameter-at-breast-height, about four and a half feet above ground level, was measured with a scaled tape measure (Fig 1). The species of the tree was identified and the health of the tree was evaluated from the condition of the leaves and bark. Any side walk heave or wire conflict was observed and recorded. Using a Trimble GPS unit (Fig 2), the GPS coordinates Graph 2: The three areas of savings that were considered are shown above. The base saved a total of 51,275 dollars per year. Picture 1: Above is the locations of the trees plotted on a map of the area surveyed. The size of the icons is related to the DBH of the trees. Math Academy for their help. Acknowledgements I would like to thank my mentor, Dr. Deidre DeRoia, Mr. Bryant DeBruyne for his help with the GIS maps, my faculty advisor, Mrs. Gabriel, and everyone in the Sciance and Figure 2: Trimble GPS unit Figure 1: Measuring with the DBH Tape