Join other Cooperative Extension personnel, educators and our expert speakers for an exciting and knowledge-filled urban and community forestry 2018 webinar series. Covering topics such as the effects of urban forests on our health, creating storm-resilient forests, and more, the …
How do urban trees reduce flooding?
Floods can occur anywhere, but urban areas experience increased frequency and severity of flooding events. This is a result of the high percentage of impervious surfaces, such as pavement and roofs, which force water to “run” rather than soak into …
How can trees extend the life of my pavement, roofing and other man-made materials?
Trees can extend the life of surface materials simply by shading that material from direct sunlight. As someone stands in the sun too long, he or she becomes burned from the sunlight. The same is true for natural and man-made …
How does reducing stormwater runoff save energy?
Stormwater runoff is a significantly growing source of pollution to our streams and rivers and is a large contributor to local flooding events. In urban areas, energy is required to purify drinking water, maintain or update infrastructure used to control …
How do I know/determine if energy consumption is being reduced by planting trees in my municipality?
Energy consumption is reduced by tree shade and evapotranspiration, lowering temperatures of the air and surfaces. Additionally, trees slow down winds by reducing heat loss from buildings.
You can determine if energy consumption in your municipality has been reduced …
What is evapotranspiration?
Evapotranspiration is a combination of evaporation and transpiration. Evaporation is a physical process that transforms liquid water into vapor by absorbing heat. Transpiration is the biological process of plants releasing water vapor through leaves. This water was previously pulled up …
How can I measure the dollar value (benefits) of the tree in my yard?
There are several methods to measure the value of trees. The National Tree Benefit Calculator is a fast and simple way to estimate the benefits gained from your trees — for free. Just enter your zip code, the species, size. …
Do trees and other vegetation help reduce urban-water runoff?
Trees and other vegetation in urban areas considerably reduce urban-water runoff. As rain falls upon vegetation, it clings to the rough surfaces of leaves, branches, and trunks. This is called interception. Some of the water evaporates back to the atmosphere. …
How does vegetation help reduce noise pollution in urban ecosystems?
Vegetation reduces noise pollution through a phenomenon called sound attenuation, which is the reduction of sound intensity. Normal attenuation of sound occurs as the energy of sound dissipates over long distances until not enough energy is left to vibrate …
How does vegetation reduce glare and reflection of light on smooth and light-colored surfaces?
Glare is directly from a primary light source, such as sunlight. Reflection is the bouncing of the primary light source from a reflective surface. Vegetation can be used to reduce both glare and reflection and thus reduce heating, by filtering …