Title: Assessing urban forest effects and values, San Francisco'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-8. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 22 p.

Abstract: An analysis of trees in San Francisco, CA reveals that this city has about 669,000 trees with canopies that cover 11.9 percent of the area. The most common tree species are blue gum eucalyptus, Monterey pine, and Monterey cypress. The urban forest currently stores about 196,000 tons of carbon valued at $3.6 million. In addition, these trees remove about 5,200 tons of carbon per year ($95,000 per year) and about 260 tons of air pollution per year ($1.3 million per year). The structural, or compensatory, value is estimated at $1.7 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 San Francisco area.