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Street Trees in a Chinese Forest City: Structure, Benefits and Costs

Author

Listed:
  • Xueyan Wang

    (CAS Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 72 Wenhua Road, Shenyang 110164, China
    College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China)

  • Jing Yao

    (CAS Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 72 Wenhua Road, Shenyang 110164, China)

  • Shuai Yu

    (CAS Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 72 Wenhua Road, Shenyang 110164, China)

  • Chunping Miao

    (CAS Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 72 Wenhua Road, Shenyang 110164, China)

  • Wei Chen

    (CAS Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 72 Wenhua Road, Shenyang 110164, China)

  • Xingyuan He

    (CAS Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 72 Wenhua Road, Shenyang 110164, China)

Abstract

Street trees provide critical ecosystem services and economic benefits that are often disregarded, due to their unknown monetary value. This study analyzed the structural characteristics of Dalian’s street trees and estimated the monetary value of structural and functional benefits by i-Tree Streets. Dalian’s street trees encompassed 28 species and were dominated by Ginkgo biloba , Platanus acerifolia and Sophora japonica , comprising 64.1% of a total of 57,699 trees. The age structure of street trees was distributed somewhat unevenly, with 18% young trees, 56% maturing trees, 25% mature trees and 1% old trees. These trees provide annual functional benefits valued at US$4.9 million and delivered a benefit-cost ratio of 3.2:1. The largest values associated with energy savings and property value were $1.7 million ($29/tree) and $1.5 million ($25/tree), respectively. The net carbon reduction benefits were valued at $935,205 ($16/tree). Smaller benefits resulted from air quality improvement ($381,088 or $7/tree) and stormwater runoff ($459,457 or $8/tree). The structural benefits were valued at $130 million, with the value of $4.5 million for carbon storage. These findings suggested that the benefits produced by street trees were worth the management costs. Our results provide a thorough understanding of the benefits produced by street trees to policy-makers and managers, and help them make informed policies to maximize and sustain the flow of benefits.

Suggested Citation

  • Xueyan Wang & Jing Yao & Shuai Yu & Chunping Miao & Wei Chen & Xingyuan He, 2018. "Street Trees in a Chinese Forest City: Structure, Benefits and Costs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-16, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:3:p:674-:d:134285
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jillian W. Gregg & Clive G. Jones & Todd E. Dawson, 2003. "Urbanization effects on tree growth in the vicinity of New York City," Nature, Nature, vol. 424(6945), pages 183-187, July.
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    Cited by:

    1. Guangxi Shen & Zipeng Song & Jiacong Xu & Lishuang Zou & Lijin Huang & Yingnan Li, 2023. "Are Ecosystem Services Provided by Street Trees at Parcel Level Worthy of Attention? A Case Study of a Campus in Zhenjiang, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-16, January.
    2. Xiaodong Xu & Xinhan Xu & Peng Guan & Yu Ren & Wei Wang & Ning Xu, 2018. "The Cause and Evolution of Urban Street Vitality under the Time Dimension: Nine Cases of Streets in Nanjing City, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-19, August.
    3. Shuo Wei & Su-Ting Cheng, 2022. "Estimating Pruning-Caused Loss on Ecosystem Services of Air Pollution Removal and Runoff Avoidance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-12, May.

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