Abstract
Using the City of Roanoke, Virginia as a study site, this paper quantifies the forest structure, ecosystem services and values of vacant and residential land. Single family residential land had more trees (1,683,000) than vacant land (210,000) due largely to the differences in land area (32.44 km2 of vacant land vs. 57.94 km2 residential). While the percentage of tree coverage was almost identical across land uses (30.6% in vacant to 32.3% in residential), the number of trees per ha is greater on residential land (290.3) than on vacant land (63.4). The average healthy leaf surface area on individual trees growing on vacant land was greater than that of individual trees on residential land. The fact that trees in vacant land were found to provide more ecosystem services per tree than residential trees was attributed to this leaf area difference. Trees on vacant land are growing in more natural conditions and there are more large trees per ha. Assessing the forest structure and ecosystem services of Roanoke’s vacant and residential land provides a picture of the current extent and condition of the vacant and residential land. Understanding these characteristics provides the information needed for improved management and utilization of urban vacant land and estimating green infrastructure value.
Highlights
The extent to which forests provide ecosystem services depends upon their forest structure
While the percentage of tree coverage was almost identical between the land uses (30.6% in vacant to 32.3% in residential), the number of trees per ha is greater on residential land (290.3) than on vacant land (63.4)
Trees on vacant urban land in Roanoke store 97,500 t of carbon (29,400 kg per ha) valued at $7.65 million ($22.932 per ha). These trees annual accumulate additional carbon of about 2090 t (630 kg per ha) valued at $164,000/year ($491.4/year per ha), which is high compared to residential land in the city
Summary
The extent to which forests provide ecosystem services depends upon their forest structure (e.g., tree species composition, number of trees, tree size, leaf area, percentage tree canopy cover, tree condition). According to a 2000 Brookings Institution study, vacant land comprised an average of 15% of the land area in 70 U.S cities [1]. This analysis does not differentiate between different types of vacant land, which can consist of anything from undistributed open space to abandoned, contaminated brownfield sites. The amount of vacant land continues to rise with vacant parcels increasing from 6.8 million nationwide in 2000 to 10.3 million by 2010, a 51% increase [2]. Indianapolis, IN, and Las Vegas, NV, experienced population increases of 4.9% and 22% but had 48.8% and 137.4% increases in abandoned properties, respectively, over the same period [2]
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