Benefits of Trees
Trees are a wise investment for the City of Spokane.
The following are figures for 8,749 public city trees that have been inventoried. Tree valuation software was used to break down and evaluate our tree population. These figures would likely increase at least sevenfold when the city wide population of approximately 78,000 public trees is inventoried.
- $44,360.00 is saved annually in heating and cooling costs.
- Trees absorb and store 35,093,248 lbs. of CO2 a year resulting in health benefits worth $9,934. The Norway Maple alone stores 350,793 lbs. at a savings of $1,172 yearly!
- The air and soil pollutants absorbed by 8,749 trees save us $23,789 yearly.
- $412,533 is saved in stormwater mitigation by rain interception and storage. The Ponderosa Pine population alone saves the city $210,149 a year.
- Trees beautify Spokane, attracting more tourists, and businesses, lowering crime rates, increasing marketability and mental health at a value of $678,442 annually.
The following are important benefits of trees but are not easily converted to $.
- Research has shown pavement shaded by trees will last 10 years longer than exposed pavement. This results in less maintenance saving material and labor costs.
- Trees provide a wealth of wildlife habitat.
- Vehicles on freeways and highways can produce noise that exceeds 100 decibels. Dense plantings of trees and shrubs can reduce this noise by 6-15 decibels.
