Enhance Public Benefits from Trees and Forests: Water Quality and Supply Protection and Enhancement

Excerpted from the USDA Forest Service State and Private Forestry Farm Bill Requirement and Redesign Strategies (pdf):

Urban and exurban forest cover, including agroforests can improve air quality, reduce energy consumption and produce biomass for energy production. Assessments should identify areas where management or restoration of the urban or exurban forest canopy will have significantly positive and measurable impact on air quality and produce substantial energy savings.

Chapter Overview

This chapter includes two analyses:

1. Urban Tree Planting: identifies priority areas where tree planting can provide the greatest benefit to urban populations in terms of mitigating air pollution and urban heat islands.
2. Urban Tree Maintenance: identifies priority areas where maintaining existing tree canopy can provide the greatest benefit to urban populations in terms of mitigating air pollution and conserving energy.

Full Chapter

Download the Urban Forestry for Energy Conservation and Air Quality chapter (.pdf).
Note: References (.pdf) (for all chapters) and other information are found separately.

Methodology

Download the methodology document (.pdf) for Urban Forestry for Energy Conservation and Air Quality.

Maps, Data and Tables

(click on an analysis to expand the list of maps, data and tables available for that analysis)

Urban Forestry Tree Planting to Improve Air Quality and Conserve Energy

• Priority Landscape Map (.pdf)
• Emumeration Tables (.pdf)
• GIS Data (.zip format)
  Note: These data are provided to document the various Assessment analyses, and to provide the potential to replicate results. Updated versions of these datasets may be available from the various data providers.
• Priority Landscape
• Threat: Air Pollution
  Ranks urban areas for PM2.5, PM10, ozone and urban road buffers.
• Input: Air Pollution Rank from PM2.5, Ozone Health and Non-attainment Days PM10 by Air Basin, California Air Resource Board, (2009)
  Ranks urban areas for PM2.5, PM10, and ozone.
• Input: Urban Roads Rank from Functional Roads (FUNC), CALTRANS (2004)
  Ranks from buffering urban roads.
• Threat: Urban Heat
  Ranks urban areas based on impervious surfaces, tree canopy and days over 90 degrees.
• Input: Impervious Surfaces Rank from Impervious Surfaces, National Land Cover Dataset, USGS (2001)
  Ranks for percent of land cover that is impervious.
• Input: Impervious Surfaces, National Land Cover Dataset, USGS (2001)
  Defined by percent of land cover that is impervious.
• Input: Canopy Cover Ranks from Percent Canopy Cover, National Land Cover Dataset, USGS (2001)
  Ranks for percent of land cover that has tree canopy.
• Input: Percent Canopy Cover, National Land Cover Dataset, USGS (2001)
  Defined by percent of land cover that has tree canopy.
• Input: Days over 90 Degrees from Daily Temperatures, California Climate Action Team (2008)
  Ranks areas based on number days over 90 degrees.
• Asset: Urban Population
  Ranks urban areas based on housing density and commercial areas.
• Input: Housing Density Class from U.S. Census Bureau (2000)
  Used to define housing density.
• Input: Urban Areas, U.S. Census Bureau (2000)
  Used to exclude non-urban areas.
• Input: Commercial Areas, National Land Cover Dataset, USGS (2001)
  Ranked high based on energy use.
• Other Data: Bioregions
  Reporting unit for summarizing results.
• Other Data: County Boundaries
  Reporting unit for summarizing results.
• Other Data: Communities
  Reporting unit for summarizing results.

Urban Forestry Tree Maintenance to Enhance Public Benefits

• Priority Landscape Map (.pdf)
• Emumeration Tables (.pdf)
• GIS Data (.zip format)
  Note: These data are provided to document the various Assessment analyses, and to provide the potential to replicate results. Updated versions of these datasets may be available from the various data providers.
• Priority Landscape
• Threat: Air Pollution
  Ranks urban areas for PM2.5, PM10, ozone and urban road buffers.
• Input: Air Pollution Rank from PM2.5, Ozone Health and Non-attainment Days PM10 by Air Basin, California Air Resource Board, (2009)
  Ranks urban areas for PM2.5, PM10, and ozone.
• Input: Urban Roads Rank from Functional Roads (FUNC), CALTRANS (2004)
  Ranks from buffering urban roads.
• Threat: Energy Consumption
  Ranks urban areas based on housing density, commercial areas and days over 90 degrees.
• Input: Housing Density Class from U.S. Census Bureau (2000)
  Ussed to define housing density.
• Input: Commercial Areas, National Land Cover Dataset, USGS (2001)
  Ranked high based on energy use.
• Input: Days over 90 Degrees from Daily Temperatures, California Climate Action Team (2008)
  Ranks urban areas based on number days over 90 degrees.
• Asset: Urban Population
  Ranks urban areas based on housing density and commercial areas.
• Input: Housing Density Class from U.S. Census Bureau (2000)
  Used to define housing density.
• Input: Urban Areas, U.S. Census Bureau (2000)
  Used to exclude non-urban areas.
• Input: Commercial Areas, National Land Cover Dataset, USGS (2001)
  Ranked high based on energy use.
• Other Data: Bioregions
  Reporting unit for summarizing results.
• Other Data: County Boundaries
  Reporting unit for summarizing results.
• Other Data: Communities
  Reporting unit for summarizing results.

Contact

• For more information about Urban Forestry for Energy Conservation and Air Quality, please contact Mary Klaas Schultz, 916.324.5981.