Publications

Tree Report Card

The Tree Report Card, now in its fifth year, is the only independent tree and tree canopy assessment of a major U.S. city. It measures the quantity and quality of Washington D.C.’s trees and tree canopy and public and private efforts to expand and sustain it. Each spring on Arbor Day we release a new report that provides data on our urban forest and helps to raise awareness and encourage others to get involved with helping to expand and sustain the District’s trees.

Read previous and current editions of the Tree Report Card.

Tree Space Design

A tree’s ability to reach their full height and canopy potential depends heavily on the amount of soil available for their root system. The typical street tree box is too small to support healthy tree growth, and therefore, trees planted in them tend to be short-lived since their needs quickly exceed the capacity of their space.

To address this issue, we convened a panel of experts to develop design recommendations that would provide street trees with adequate soil volume while maintaining sufficient space for pedestrian circulation.

The resulting award-winning report, Tree Space Design: Growing the Tree Out of the Box, includes a matrix of soil volume recommendations and root-friendly design methods intended for inclusion in design standards and use in individual projects. If followed, these spaces will not only yield larger, healthier trees, but help to minimize damage to paved surfaces.

You can learn more about tree space issues in D.C. on our Tree Space Regulation resources page.