This past Saturday we had a crew of citizen foresters out and about at Middle Shoreline Harbor Park and the Bay Bridge Trail measuring trees in an effort to quantify the ecosystem services that the urban forest provides. iTree Eco, a software tool developed by the USDA, allows for cities, land managers and urban forestry groups to collect field data on trees and input it into their online system for analysis and receive a full report on the services that the forest provides. The report includes details pertaining to:
Urban forest structure – types of trees, amount of trees all categorized by land use type
Hourly amount of pollution removed by the urban forest, and associated percent air quality improvement throughout a year.
Hourly urban forest volatile organic compound emissions and the relative impact of tree species on net ozone and carbon monoxide formation throughout the year.
Public health incidence reduction and economic benefit based on the effect of trees on air quality improvement.
Total carbon stored and net carbon annually sequestered by the urban forest.
Effects of trees on building energy use and consequent effects on carbon dioxide emissions from power plants.
Yearly tree canopy rainfall interception summarized by tree species or land use.
Compensatory value of the forest, as well as the value of air pollution removal and carbon storage and sequestration.
Pests risk analyses based on host susceptibility, pest/disease range and tree structural value.
The turnout was a great mix: UC Berkeley students volunteering for their Alternative Breaks program, various tree groups interested in replicating the iTree survey for their respective cities and horticulture enthusiasts. During this trial run we successfully measured 152 trees down at the Port and we hope to measure the rest in the near future! For more information on this program check out the iTree website.
We are always interested when the media covers local issues we are working on, especially national coverage. Recently the New York Times published a story that opened with a family based in Oakland, California and their difficulty in affording prescription asthma medication. The United States on average spends far more per capita on prescription inhalers than any other developed country. People living in West Oakland, encircled by three freeways and the port, are well aware of this cost because they are disproportionally affected by this disease due to pollution. In a nation where prescription costs for inhalers are extremely high, and where you live drastically increases your chances of getting asthma, your options are limited. This is what Adapt Oakland hopes to mitigate, by constructing dense urban forestry in between the source of the pollution and the residential neighborhood we can reduce the environmental health costs inflicted on West Oakland residents.
Contrary to popular belief, Lorem Ipsum is not simply random text. It has roots in a piece of classical Latin literature from 45 BC, making it over 2000 years old. Richard McClintock, a Latin professor at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, looked up one of the more obscure Latin words.
Making it it just enough over 2000 years old. Richard McClintock, a Latin professor at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, looked up one of the more obscure Latin words
Contrary to popular belief, Lorem Ipsum is not simply random text. It has roots in a piece of classical Latin literature from 45 BC, making it over 2000 years old. Richard McClintock, a Latin professor at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, looked up one of the more obscure Latin words.
Making it it just enough over 2000 years old. Richard McClintock, a Latin professor at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, looked up one of the more obscure Latin words
This past Saturday we had a crew of citizen foresters out and about at Middle Shoreline Harbor Park and the Bay Bridge Trail measuring trees in an effort to quantify the ecosystem services that the urban forest provides. iTree Eco, a software tool developed by the USDA, allows for cities, land managers and urban forestry groups to collect field data on trees and input it into their online system for analysis and receive a full report on the services that the forest provides. The report includes details pertaining to: