New York City mapped all of its trees and calculated the economic benefits

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Weedygarden

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Some of you may live where trees are abundant. Some of us live where we have to plant trees in order to have them and then have to be persistent to have them thrive.

My cousin who lives in the country in Wyoming has tried to grow trees on his property, but the wind does not allow them to live.

I knew someone who had his property appraised and every mature tree was valued at $5000. He had a double lot and had planted trees around the perimeter when he purchased the property many years ago. Trees are an investment.

I have planted 7 trees on my property and want to plant at least two more, an apple and a cherry tree. I have removed more than 15 trees that I call weed trees, ailanthus and Siberian elm. They self seeded into my yard from neighboring trees and the removal of them was not cheap and required diligence and persistence. I cut them back and dug out the stumps for years.

https://www.archdaily.com/800157/ne...FH0hXRlhLkCRzpu-yvOz8_2cMz914R2zJ3Bx3NCfIZt28
Public spaces, squares, and parks in New York City are administered by the city’s Department of Parks & Recreation (NYC Parks).

In recent years, the agency has been responsible for creating new programs to help children, youth and adults be aware of the importance of caring for their urban landscape.

One of these programs is a TreesCount! which in 2015 gathered 2,300 volunteers to learn about the trees in their environment, what state they are in, what care they need, what their measurements are, and how they benefit the surrounding community, etc.For months, they walked the streets of the five boroughs together with a group of monitors who previously trained them to recognize what trees they were studying and their characteristics. Now the information gathered on these walks, which gave rise to an urban forest registry, is available on the New York City Tree Map. With it, you can view statistics on each of the 685,781 registered trees, a calendar of activities related to tree care, the total number of species and find out which is the most common tree in your neighborhood.


via  NYC Parks
via NYC ParksIn terms of data for each tree, no detail was left out, since each one was assigned a unique ID number, as well a color indicating its species. In addition, it has its exact location accompanied by its corresponding image in Google Street View, the possibility of reporting any possible issues that may arise and a summary of the ecological benefits for each tree translated into an economic value. This means that when choosing a tree on the map you can see the amount of rainwater it retains each year (expressed in gallons) and the money each individual specimen saves each year. The amount of electricity conserved is also estimated, calculated in kilowatts per hour (kWh), as well as the reduction of air pollution. All these are formulated according to figures from U.S. Forest Service that estimate the total ecological benefits a tree gives in dollars. In the case of the tree in the image below, this one has a benefit for its population that amounts to slightly more than $500 USD each year.


If you want to check the map out for yourself click here.
 
We fought those elm trees forever in New Mexico. In the spring, so many seeds would blow it would look like it's snowing.
I had so many of them on my property. I would cut them down, close to the ground, and then they would grow back. I finally decided I had to dig them out by the roots. What I learned was that the top will be starting new growth, but the roots kept growing as thought the tree was still there. I had one whole summer of digging out their roots and the holes I had to dig to get the big part out was as deep as my waist. They are gone now, as is the tree that my neighbor had which produced all of the seeds. He did a great job of maintaining it by having it trimmed and sprayed for insects, but at last it was not well enough to keep.

The same is true of ailanthus. If you cut off the top of them, they will send out shoots from the roots and pop up all over the place. A neighbor has a few very large ones in her yard. It does not take them very long to grow to be huge and one can produce more than a million seeds a year.
 
I had no idea about that. I think we need a thread to discuss all of what is involved with Agenda 21. Maybe this could be it and the title of this thread could be changed.

I didn't mean to hijack the thread. The details of UN Agenda 21 are pretty scary and should be put behind the politics wall.
 
I didn't mean to hijack the thread. The details of UN Agenda 21 are pretty scary and should be put behind the politics wall.
I have no problem with this thread being hijacked, but it might be better to start a UN Agenda 21 thread and to link it here. I agree, it should be in the political section. I'm a little distracted now, but if you want to start it, please do.
 
@Weedygarden wrote

"
knew someone who had his property appraised and every mature tree was valued at $5000

"

I have to look into that and find out if I can get someone to harvest the big ones without trashing the place.

Ben
I am sure the type of tree makes a big difference. This also happened to be in a very desirable neighborhood of large older homes. Lumnah Acres bought 500 acres (I think) in New England and are having several acres of trees cleared. I know you can be paid well for mature trees of the right type. https://www.youtube.com/c/DoingItGreen/featured
 
When we bought our 5 acres, first thing I did after bush hogging it was to by 1000 White Pine Seedlings from state forestry department. I planted them 10' apart in staggared rows 10' apart along the road and one boundry. That was in 1992. Many of them died the first 3 years and I still lose one every few years. But still have more than 300 left. Tallest are close to 50' tall and 18-24" diameter now. I've also planted a bunch of tulip poplars, oaks, pecans, walnuts, and assorted fruit trees.
 
When we bought our 5 acres, first thing I did after bush hogging it was to by 1000 White Pine Seedlings from state forestry department. I planted them 10' apart in staggared rows 10' apart along the road and one boundry. That was in 1992. Many of them died the first 3 years and I still lose one every few years. But still have more than 300 left. Tallest are close to 50' tall and 18-24" diameter now. I've also planted a bunch of tulip poplars, oaks, pecans, walnuts, and assorted fruit trees.
White pine pinecones are great for making pinecone wreaths. When I lived in Indiana, a friend of mine and I made wreaths and we knew a place that had quite a few white pines that we could go and gather pine cones.
 
I didn't mean to hijack the thread. The details of UN Agenda 21 are pretty scary and should be put behind the politics wall.
No worries about where these threads go, imho, as long as someone doesn't just want to argue and derail it for no worthy purpose. Your comment was certainly relative.
I hope I did not sound harsh in my response. That was not my intention. I appreciate the information about why NYC is doing what they are doing and I wonder if all large cities are inventorying their trees for this.
I have yet to look at the UN Agenda 21 thread, but I believe it is a very worthwhile topic.
 
Yes they do Weedy. Put on a lot of growth fast. And when in staggered rows makes a nice sound break and blocks the view very well. Grow blackberries or rhodedendren in between and provide a good wall. Not easy for someone to penetrate.
That would create a nice barrier against intruders and provide some great privacy.
I do not see many white pine trees in my area and therefore, have had to use other kinds of pinecones to make wreaths. If you had any interest, you might be able to sell pinecones on Etsy or other platforms, maybe by the pound. I remember the pinecones that we gathered were really wet. We would put our base layer in our wire wreath forms, and then dry them in a low oven.
 
I’d like to plant a line of Osage orange trees. They aren’t common here, but I have seeds. Does anyone have experience with them? From what I read, they are or were used in the Midwest to form natural fences that kept livestock in, or out as the case may be. If you know, how close can I plant them? Also, Black Walnut are prolific here if anyone would like a little one for the price of postage.
 
When I get a decent piece of land it will have forested areas that will be allowed to expand. The only trees that will be cut will be ones that are dead or dying. I like a forest and all the life it brings. I will keep enough AG lane for food and fuel but that will be less than 20 acres in farmland with a big portion in grazing and browsing meadows. You have to keep the cattle and pigs happy.
 
I’d like to plant a line of Osage orange trees. They aren’t common here, but I have seeds. Does anyone have experience with them? From what I read, they are or were used in the Midwest to form natural fences that kept livestock in, or out as the case may be. If you know, how close can I plant them? Also, Black Walnut are prolific here if anyone would like a little one for the price of postage.
Someone from this group sent me three black walnuts a few years ago. I tried to get them to grow with no luck. I like to experiment with trying to grow things from seed. I've gotten a few things to grow, such as cherries, lemons, grapefruit. I do know that a seed may not always produce the kind of fruit that we think it might, but it is fun to see what happens.
 
I’d like to plant a line of Osage orange trees. They aren’t common here, but I have seeds. Does anyone have experience with them? From what I read, they are or were used in the Midwest to form natural fences that kept livestock in, or out as the case may be. If you know, how close can I plant them? Also, Black Walnut are prolific here if anyone would like a little one for the price of postage.
Osage orange is one of the hardest woods there are. Great for fence rows, also I think they were used for tool handles and such. Mallet, hammer, etc. Make great fence post as well
 
@Tootsie Osage orange or Hedge trees are indeed super hard. They are also very gnarly and crooked. Not sure where you are at, but if you find Des Moines, Iowa on the map, that is the far northern extent of their range and going at least 50 miles south is better. I'm 30 miles north of Des Moines and they just don't grow here.

As mentioned they make excellent fence posts. You'll wear out some chains cutting them but they'll last forever. In the Amish country of North Missouri you see Osage orange fenceposts everywhere. After the posts have been cut and dried for a season they're so hard it's difficult to drive a staple into them...

On a different topic, I know many here don't like the use of chemicals but for stubborn trees, Tordon works wonders. Yes, it's nasty stuff but if you want a tree to get dead and stay dead there's nothing better, and it's not terribly expensive...
 
As far as trees for an investment, I know of a couple farmers that planted some marginal ground with walnut trees. A bigger walnut tree can be worth thousands. One of them says it's his kid's inheritance. If you're young it can be a retirement strategy, if you're older it can be a way to add value to your property and be something to leave to your family.
 
They can be good money. We had our woods harvested several years ago and the money helped pay for a new roof. But, the woods looked like a war zone for a long time after. Wouldn’t do it again. It’s hard to find an honest harvester. There are a half dozen prime, specimen trees as big around as a barrel, fully mature trees that last year or so got a quote of $500-600 each. These are the good ones, and easy to get to in the yard. Um,no. Quote last year was from a different harvester, supposedly a friend but I doubt he was very accurate. Evergreens, Christmas trees, are easier money on marginal land.
 
@Spikedriver @Bacpacker Osage orange was prized among native americans for making bows, it still is. A very good friend of mine makes long bows to order. When he can he gets Osage Orange. He's 6'5" to give you an idea of the bows length. This one is made from osage orange. It's a very yellow wood.

to the op... I doubt that the city of NY has the ability to ascertain the value of anything, much less a tree.

full draw sm1.jpg
 

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