Austin's Urban Forest 2014
Posted on Jul 29, 2017 | US Forest Service - Department of Agriculture | Feb. 2016
How much is a urban tree forest worth? Researchers at Texas A&M Forest Service and the US Forest Service using iTree-Eco modeling software estimated the value of Austin's 33.8 million urban trees. Trees in Austin currently
store about 1.9 million tons of carbon (7.0 million tons of carbon dioxide [CO2]); such storage is valued at $242.0 million. In addition, these trees remove about 92,000 tons of carbon per year (336,000 tons CO2/year) ($11.6 million per year) and about 1,253 tons of air pollution per year ($2.8 million in health care savings per year). Austin’s urban forest is estimated to reduce annual residential energy costs by $18.9 million per year. The compensatory value of the trees is estimated at $16.0 billion. Surface run-off reduction is estimated at 65 million cubic feet per year through interception or absorption. Unfortunately a monetary savings was not attributed to surface runoff reduction.