An i-Tree Benefit Analysis for the

Cities of Bellevue, Covington, Florence, Fort Thomas, and Newport Kentucky

Presented by:The Northern Kentucky

Urban and Community Forestry Council

Urban forests provide numerous benefits to society, and now these important benefits can be accurately

quantified.

U.S. Forest Service’s Urban Forests Effects Model (UFORE)

Urban Forest Effects and

Values

Designed to provide information to aid cities, counties, and urban forest managers with:

Management Planning Design Budget Decisions

What Does UFORE Assess?

Forest structure and health - aid in urban forest managementCarbon storage and sequestration - aid in carbon accounting & potential carbon creditsBuilding energy use effects - accounting for direct savings to property ownersAir pollution removal - aid in developing plans to improve air qualityPotential pest impacts - understand the risk of invasive pests

Northern Kentucky Urban Forest

UFORE Analysis SummaryNumber of Trees 11,867

Top 3 Species Callery Pear, Red Maple, Honeylocust

Population <12” DBH 75%

Trees Susceptible to Insect Threats 89%

Pollution Removal 17,781 lbs/year, at $44,634 year

Carbon Storage 3,059 tons, at $69,745 year

Compensatory Value $17,134,800

Total Value of Benefits $17,249,179

Value per Tree $1,450

Species Distribution(top 3 species)

BellevueReported 710 Trees

Callery Pear (28 %)Cherry (13%)

Crabapple (9%)

CovingtonReported 3,928 Trees

Callery Pear (26 %)Honeylocust (9%)Red Maple (8%)

FlorenceReported 3,269 Trees

Callery Pear (14 %)Sugar Maple (5%)Crabapple (5%)

Fort ThomasReported 1,686 Trees

Callery Pear (17 %)Silver Maple (9%)Sugar Maple (7%)

NewportReported 2,274 Trees

Red Maple (24 %)Callery Pear (18%)Honeylocust (6%)

Tree Size Distribution

Bellevue

Diameter at Breast Height (DBH in Inches)

1 - 6

7 - 12

13 - 18

> 3019 - 24 25 - 30

Tree Size DistributionCovington

Diameter at Breast Height (DBH in Inches)

1 - 6

7 - 12

13 - 18

> 3019 - 24 25 - 30

Tree Size Distribution

Florence

Diameter at Breast Height (DBH in Inches)

1 - 6

7 - 12

13 - 18> 30

19 - 24 25 - 30

Tree Size DistributionFort Thomas

Diameter at Breast Height (DBH in Inches)

1 - 6

7 - 12

13 - 18

> 30

19 - 24

25 - 30

Tree Size Distribution

Newport

Diameter at Breast Height (DBH in Inches)

1 - 6

7 - 12

13 - 18

> 3019 - 24

25 - 30

Compensatory Value of the Urban Forest

Total Value of Northern Kentucky Trees$ 17,134,800

Bellevue Trees$ 814,300

Covington Trees$ 5,396,300

Florence Trees$ 2,145,900

Fort Thomas Trees$ 5,683,400

Newport Trees$ 3,094,900

Urban Forest BenefitsTrees perform the following beneficial functions that

can be translated into economic values

Removal of air pollutantsozone (O3), carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide(SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and particulate matter less than 10 microns (PM10)

Decrease energy costsshading and cooling effects of trees

Carbon storage and sequestrationStormwater mitigationIncrease property value

Value of Air Pollution Removal

ozone (O3), carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide(SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and particulate matter less

than 10 microns (PM10)

Northern Kentucky17,781 lbs/year at $ 44,634 year

Bellevue 907 lbs/year at $ 2,275 year

Covington 5,998 lbs/year at $ 15,033 year

Florence 2,422 lbs/year at $ 6,111 year

Fort Thomas 4,455 lbs/year at $ 11,182 year

Newport 3,999 lbs/year at $ 10,032 year

Carbon Storage & Sequestration

Carbon Storage – Carbon currently held within tree tissues (roots, stems, and branches) from year to year

Carbon Sequestration – Estimate of carbon that is removed annually from the atmosphere by trees and soil to be later stored in tissue.

Northern Kentucky85 tons/year absorbed & 3,059 tons stored = $ 69,745*

Bellevue 5 tons/year absorbed & 137 tons stored = $ 2,275

Covington 30 tons/year absorbed & 906 tons stored = $ 20,657

Florence 12 tons/year absorbed & 338 tons stored = $ 7,706

Fort Thomas 20 tons/year absorbed & 1,113 tons stored = $ 25,376

Newport 18 tons/year absorbed & 565 tons stored = $ 12,882

* market value based on a USFS estimate of $22.80 per ton

Value of Carbon Storage and Sequestration

Asian Longhorned Beetle Current infestations confined

to New York and Chicago Hardwood trees are

susceptible

Emerald Ash Borer Current infestations include,

Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia

Ash trees are susceptible

European Gypsy Moth Current infestations include

parts of West Virginia, Ohio and other eastern states

Feed on 500 different plant species

Insect Threats

Susceptible Populations of Trees to the Asian Longhorned Beetle

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Susceptible Populations of Trees to the Emerald Ash

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UFORE Growth Projections and Benefits

What would the benefits be if the Northern Kentucky tree canopy cover was increased?

5%

10%

15%

UFORE Population Projector

Predicts benefits for:

Carbon Storage Avoided Carbon Emissions Air Pollution Removal

Projected BenefitsCarbonStorage

(tons/year)

Estimated Market Value

Avoided Carbon

Emissions (tC/year)

EstimatedMarket Value

Air Pollution Removal (tons/year)

Estimated Market Value

Total Value

ExistingPublicTrees

3,058 $69,722 n/a n/a 2.9 $14,561 $84,283

5%Canopy Increase

6,160 $139,871 58 $1,323 6.3 $31,621 $172,815

10%Canopy Increase

9,347 $211,345 88 $2,006 9.7 $48,676 $262,027

15%Canopy Increase

12,534 $282,820 16 $2,652 13.1 $65,731 $207,262

Trees Are Great!

Environmental & Economic Benefits

Quality of Life

Recreation

Wildlife Habitat

Renewable Resource

For More Information… USFS i-Tree

www.itreetools.org

Kentucky Division of Forestrywww.forestry.ky.gov

Northern Kentucky Urban & Community Forestry Councilwww.

nkyurbanforestry.org