A Practical Approach to Assessing Structure, Function, and Value of Street Tree Populations in Small Communities

This study demonstrates an approach to quantify the structure, benefits, and costs of street tree populations in resource-limited communities without tree inventories. Using the city of Davis, California, U.S., as a model, existing data on the benefits and costs of municipal trees were applied to the results of a sample inventory of the city's public and private street trees. Results indicate that Davis maintained nearly 24,000 public street trees that provided $1.2 million in net annual environmental and property value benefits, with a benefit­cost ratio of 3.8:1. The city can improve long-term stability of this resource by managing maintenance, new plantings, and stand rejuvenation on a city zone basis.