Posts Tagged ‘tree planting’

In Oak Cliff, the tree-planting projects keep on coming.

From 9 a.m. until noon or so Friday, volunteers will join city park and recreation workers in adding 160 trees to Lake Cliff Park. An equal number will be planted near White Rock Lake in East Dallas.

“This is especially wonderful because the tree stock in Lake Cliff Park is getting old,” said Barbara Barbee, president of the Friends of Oak Cliff Parks. “We have not been replacing trees the way we should have so this will be a big plus.”

Plantings at the 108-year-old Lake Cliff Park will include canopy trees such as pecans, burr oaks and chinkapin oaks, along with such flowering understory trees as desert willows, Mexican plums, possumhaw hollys, red buds and rusty blackhaw viburnums.

The project is co-sponsored by the Dallas Mavericks; the accounting firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers, which is paying for the irrigation system; and Arborilogical Services of Dallas, which will maintain the trees for three years.

The city’s reforestation fund is paying for the trees. When developers clear protected trees from a site, they can plant acceptable replacements nearby, donate trees to the city’s Park and Recreation Department, grant the city a conservation easement to protect selected property or pay into the fund.

Original article

Lake Cliff Park in a ca. 1940 Works Progress Administration photo courtesy of the Dallas Municipal Archives.

By  Steve Houser, Dallas Urban Forest Advisory Committee Chair

Trees clean our air, water, and soil. They also add greatly to our health, sense of well being, quality of life, and our economic future in many ways. As a result, the presence of trees and healthy ecosystems provide a strong foundation for a sustainable urban infrastructure in the future. The very essence of nature provides sound guidance for reaching urban sustainability. To quote Mr. Albert Einstein “look deep into nature and you will understand everything better.”

We all breathe the same air plus use the same water and soil to survive; therefore, it is important to understand the interconnectedness of all things as well as the important role that trees and healthy urban ecosystems play in planning for our future. Education is critical in stimulating the public conscience which will ultimately drive environmental causes. We must learn to think globally, plan regionally, and act locally to reach sustainability. We all benefit greatly from a shared regional vision of social, economic, and regional goals for sustainability.

Improved Air Quality

Rising levels of carbon, specifically carbon dioxide (CO2), are accelerating global warming and our urban forest offers the opportunity to mitigate the problem by sequestering (or storing) carbon as well as ozone, nitrogen oxides, and sulfuric oxides plus filtering particulate pollution. Trees are long-term carbon storehouses, or carbon “sinks”, however, they also release the carbon as they die and decompose or when they are burned.

As an urban forest declines in health or significant populations are lost over time, they must constantly be replaced to increase the net carbon storage capacity. Failure to conserve trees or replant what is lost can cause an increase in the release of carbon by an urban forest. Conservation is important because larger healthy trees (over 30 inches) sequester 90 times more carbon than smaller trees (under 4 inches) and store 1,000 times more carbon. Also, poor air quality results in increased health care cost to treat the associated problems.
It is important to note that trees also emit biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs), such as isoprene, benzene, and monoterpenes, which react with nitrogen oxide to form ozone. Research exists on the subject but it is based on trees in other parts of the country. As a result, further study of how local tree species affect air quality in our region is required before we plant a large number of trees that may not be ideal.

Reduced Energy Use

Planting deciduous trees on the west, south, and east exposure of homes and buildings (or strategic shading) can save up to 30 percent on our energy bills. If we can shade our air conditioners, we can save an additional 10 percent on our energy bills. By planting dense evergreen trees on the north side of a building or home to slow the cold winter winds, additional energy savings can be gained. By reducing energy use, we decrease emissions from regional power generation plants and their negative effect on our air quality.

Reduced Urban Temperatures

A 1995 geothermal study of the Dallas area by Dr. Ken Morgan with Texas Christian University, found that various areas could be 10 to 12 degrees hotter than Oak Cliff due to the extensive tree canopy cover and minimal grey infrastructure. The grey infrastructure amounts to large amounts of brick, glass, and concrete that hold heat well into the night which increases urban temperatures—called the urban heat island effect (UHI).
By strategically placing trees in UHI problem areas such as parking lots and vast expanses of grey infrastructure, we reduce urban temperatures as well as evaporative emissions from the fuel tanks and fuel systems of our vehicles. Heated fuel tanks and fuel systems release hydrocarbons and 16 percent of all hydrocarbon emissions are created by evaporative emissions. By reducing urban temperatures, air quality improves because the formation of ozone is dependent on higher temperatures.

Reduced Storm Water Runoff and Flooding

Large amounts of grey infrastructure greatly increase the amount of storm water runoff which can lead to flooding. Trees reduce storm water runoff by allowing the rain to slowly filter through the foliage which decreases the potential for flooding. Strategic shading of grey infrastructure not only reduces flood potential and the UHI effect but it can also extend the life of asphalt by 60 percent. This offers a very large return on our investment in tree planting and care plus reduces the impact that asphalt has on the environment.

Improved Water Quality

Bioremediation or phytoremediation is the use of trees, plants, and biological agents to remove or neutralize contaminants in polluted water or soil. Leaves, twigs, and limbs that lay on the ground stimulate biological activity which also helps to remove pollution. Removing the organic layer on the top of the soil reduces its capacity to grow healthy plants and trees as well as its ability to remove various types of pollution.

Increased Economic Benefit

Trees offer many tangible economic benefits such as increased property values and a better quality of life which will attract corporations and the general public to an area. The result is an increased tax base due to the establishment of a more desirable area to live and conduct business. The more green and sustainable an area becomes in the future, the more successful it will become in economic terms.
Sprawl and “business as usual” will no longer be desirable because sustainable infill developments will attract the public. As far as a return on investment, for every dollar spent on tree planting and care, we receive up to five dollars in benefits according to research. Studies across the nation show that residential home prices can be up to 20 percent higher due to the presence of trees. Also, a home will sell faster with healthy trees as opposed to others with few or no trees.

This article is reprinted with permission from North Central Texas Council of Governments and Steve Houser.

“The more green and sustainable an area becomes in the future, the more successful it will become in economic terms.”

“Reprinted with permission from Texas Nursery & Landscape Association. This article originally appeared in TNLA Green magazine, February 2011 issue.”

Sustainability has many definitions. To the arborist, naturalist, and gardener, it means that we do not use a resource to the point that it has a negative consequence on future generations’ abilities to use the same resource. When applied to trees, sustainability means tree removals are a last resort. Sustainability also means that proper selection, placement, and care are required to ensure trees will live to their full potential, providing the maximum benefits for future generations.

In a sustainable tree-planting project, trees not only survive, but also grow stronger limbs and live to the normal life expectancy for the species.

Sustainable tree planting projects include:

• Researching a particular species and its growth habit before you determine its location. A large-growing oak does not belong over a swimming pool because it drops acorns, leaves, and flowers (some call them tassels) in the pool. Also, consider the future growth of near-by trees before selecting a location. Trees without adequate sunlight for the species do not develop to their full potential.
• Ensuring a tree will have adequate root space and a healthy soil. Trees surrounded by concrete survive around 20 years and trees surrounded by organic matter can live to their full life expectancy.
• Selecting quality trees with a proper-sized root ball, a strong branching habit, and healthy foliage (or healthy buds in the dormant season). A tree, growing in a nursery container that is too small is not sustainable. A 6’ or 8’ tall tree growing in a 5-gallon container, likely has circling roots inside the container and requires staking to become established. If circling roots are not properly pruned during the planting process, they continue to grow in a circular pattern, leaving the tree without adequate support. Staking is necessary to prevent the tree from blowing over. As a rule, a root ball or container should be at least 10”-12” wide for each inch in trunk caliper.
• Providing sufficient maintenance during the establishment period. Proper maintenance is critical for a minimum of 5 years for newly planted trees up to 1.5” caliper, and 3 years for trees between 2″ and 4” caliper—unless we experience a drought. If you are going to plant it…. make sure it survives or the squirrels will curse you!!

Even if the girdling (circling) roots of this Bald Cypress (image right) were cut during the planting process as required, the root system would never offer the support required for the growth above ground.

Few nursery growers consistently produce trees with a strong branching habit, because removing a limb with a weak branching habit often leaves a hole in the outer foliage, making it less aesthetically pleasing. The lack of appropriate pruning results in a tree that is thick and bushy, rather than a tree that has proper spacing between limbs.

Lace Bark Elm “A” (image left) with multiple leaders (or limbs) competing against each other and no central leader (or limb). This elm is more likely to suffer from premature limb failure (or breakage) long before it reaches its life expectancy making it a less sustainable choice.

Lace Bark Elm “B” (image left) with evenly spaced limbs along a strong central leader (or limb) in the center. This offers a stronger branching habit with greatly reduces odds of limb failure before reaching its life expectancy making it a more sustainable choice.

Quality growers also root prune their trees to ensure thick, dense roots which greatly increases the odds of survival.

The person who cares about sustaining tree health and longevity leaves a precious gift for future generations to enjoy.
-by Steve Houser

Original article: http://www.nctcog.org/envir/features/2011/jan/RegVoice.asp

As seen in: Dallas City Hall Highlights
Related DallasNews.com Story

As part of the Dallas Mavericks Guard the Planet initiative, the Mavs launched Trees for Wins and committed to plant one tree in Reverchon Park for every Mavs win this season. For the Mavs 50 wins to date, 50 trees were recently planted by players Eduardo Najera and DeShawn Stevenson.  The trees will be cared for by the Dallas Parks and Recreation Department and Arborilogical Services, The Experts Your Trees Deserve.

“We are proud to share the park as our backyard with the Mavs and we want to thank the Mavericks for this beautiful gesture of planting trees,” said Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children President J.C. Montgomery, Jr.

“The Mavs support for this project expresses their corporate leadership as well as their sound principles in being stewards of our urban forest,” said Arborilogical Services, The Experts Your Trees Deserve President Steve Houser. Reverchon Park offers many leisure and recreational programs as well as baseball fields, basketball and tennis courts and an accessible children’s playground.