What’s the value of our urban forest? The answer to this question also tells us why we want to increase it! The science of trees tells us that they dramatically improve environmental quality in the Chicago area.
Chicago’s Urban Forest – Did You Know?
- Chicago has about 3,600,000 trees with canopies that cover 17.2 percent of the area.
- Nearly 51.9 percent of the tree species in Chicago are native to Illinois.
- Chicago’s urban forest currently stores about 716,000 tons of carbon valued at $14.8 million.
- Our urban forest removes about 25,200 tons of carbon per year ($521,000 per year) and about 754 tons of air pollution per year ($6 million per year).
- The structural, or compensatory, value of our trees is estimated at $2.3 billion.
Benefits of Our Urban Forest
The many benefits of our urban forest, mentioned in the sidebar, are linked directly to the amount of healthy leaf surface the tree provides. In Chicago, trees that dominate in terms of leaf area are silver maple, Norway maple, and green ash. Unfortunately, green ash is susceptible to the Emerald Ash Borer, which is now spreading throughout the Midwest.
Chicago’s Canopy Cover
