Overall Tree Canopy Benefits in Columbus

OVERALL TREE CANOPY BENEFITS IN COLUMBUS

TREE CANOPY BENEFITS POVIDED BY 22% CANOPY IN COLUMBUS

Annual carbon captured

168,000 tons

SERVICE VALUE: $3.9 Million

Using trees to ‘sequester’ this CO2 is a key part of the Columbus Climate Adaption Plan’s goal to make the city more climate resilient.

Annual air pollution removed

2.5 million pounds

SERVICE VALUE: $4.6 Million

Ozone and particulates can especially aggravate existing respiratory conditions (like asthma) and create long-term chronic health problems (American Lung Association 2015).

Annual rainwater intercepted

331 million gallons

SERVICE VALUE: $29.5 Million

Contaminated stormwater flows into overloaded engineered sewers, ultimately reaching the local lakes and streams. Polluted water is a major cause of human health issues and degrades the local ecology.

Figure 2.1 | Tree Canopy Benefits Table

Trees as Infrastructure

Because of the significant value of these benefits, cities across the country now recognize trees as critical infrastructure. They are, in fact, the only type of infrastructure that increases in value over time. And best of all, they have been proven to pay for themselves. Urban trees in the Midwest consistently provide benefits valued three times more than the cost to maintain them (Peper et al. 2009).

Everyone in Columbus deserves to live in a healthy, vibrant, safe community Every resident deserves access to the many benefits that tree canopy provides, but current canopy cover varies widely and inequitably between neighborhoods in Columbus. Tree canopy ranges between neighborhoods from as low as 9% to as high as 41%. This means that some neighborhoods are receiving more benefits from trees that positively affect health and well-being than others.

Equity is a community priority in Columbus, and this master plan seeks to prioritize neighborhoods with high need and low canopy. Historic disinvestment and redlining of low-income communities, immigrant communities and communities of color contributed to lower canopy in some parts of Columbus.

The Columbus urban forest provides over $38 Million

in benefits every year.

A robust tree canopy improves health, quality of life and even utility bills for families and neighborhoods in Columbus. We know that some neighborhoods lack canopy, which is why ensuring that all families enjoy these benefits, with a focus on our neighborhoods most in need of more trees, is such an important part of this plan. -President Pro Tempore Elizabeth Brown Columbus City Council “