Compensatory value of urban trees in the United States

Abstract

Understanding the value of an urban forest can give decision makers a better foundation for urban tree management. Based on tree-valuation methods of the Council of Tree and Landscape Appraisers and field data from eight cities, total compensatory value of tree populations in U.S. cities ranges from $101 million in Jersey City, New Jersey, to $5.2 billion in New York, New York. Compensatory values represent compensation to owners for the loss of an individual tree and can be viewed as the value of the tree as a structural asset. Based on national urban forest tree cover data, the total compensatory value for the urban forests of the 48 adjacent United States is estimated at $2.4 trillion.