Title: Assessing urban forest effects and values, Philladelphia's urban forest

Author: Nowak, David J.; Hoehn, Robert E., III; Crane, Daniel E.; Stevens, Jack C.; Walton, Jeffrey T.

Year: 2007

Publication: Resour. Bull. NRS-7. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 22 p.

Abstract: An analysis of trees in Philadelphia reveals that this city has about 2.1 million trees with canopies that cover 15.7 percent of the area. The most common tree species are black cherry, crabapple, and tree of heaven. The urban forest currently stores about 530,000 tons of carbon valued at $9.8 million. In addition, these trees remove about 16,100 tons of carbon per year ($297,000 per year) and about 802 tons of air pollution per year ($3.9 million per year). The structural, or compensatory, value is estimated at $1.8 billion. Information on the structure and functions of the urban forest can be used to improve and augment support for urban forest management programs and to integrate urban forests within plans to improve environmental quality in the Philadelphia area.