Casey Trees

Quantified Benefits

STRATUM and UFORE

STRATUM
Casey Trees worked with 500+ volunteers in 2002 to map every one of the more than 106,000 street trees in Washington, DC. The teams gathered data for each tree including species and diameter. The Street Tree Management Tool for Urban Forest Managers (STRATUM) uses these data to calculate the ecological and economic value of the urban forest.

In DC the street trees provide over $10 million in annual carbon, air quality, stormwater, energy, and property value benefits. The most common species planted in the streetscape are the Red Maple (13%), the Norway Maple (12%), and the Sugar Maple and Pin Oak (11% each).

View STRATUM report
Visit our interactive street tree map
Calculate the benefits of your tree using the Tree Benefits Calculator

UFORE
While STRATUM is used for street trees, the Urban Forest Effects model (UFORE) helps us understand the composition, condition, and ecological values of an entire urban forest ecosystem. Casey Trees and National Park Service staff assisted by volunteers visited two hundred, one-tenth acre sample plots located randomly throughout the city. By precisely measuring the contents (e.g., tree species and size, shrubs, parking lots, buildings) of each plot one can accurately estimate the number of trees, age composition, species composition, and ecological benefits of the urban forest in its entirety.

In DC the urban forest is comprised of approximately 1.9 million trees. The most common species are the American Beech (14.1%), the Red Maple (6.4%), the Boxelder (5.5%), and the Tulip Tree (5.2%). A majority of the trees (56.3%) are under six inches in diameter - this is indicative of their relative youth. The 1.9 million trees sequester over 16,000 tons of carbon annually which has a value of about $300,000.

View UFORE report

 

Trees and Home Energy Savings

Trees in urban environments play an important role in reducing energy costs and CO2 emissions through direct shading, evapotranspiration, and wind-speed reduction. Trees sited optimally for shading produce significantly more in energy benefits than trees planted with no regard for site. In July and August of 2008 Casey Trees surveyed the trees on the properties of 143 study participants to better understand the magnitude of energy savings and emissions reductions in Washington, D.C.

View the report