Trees provide benefits that promote health, social wellbeing, and even help your home. Trees serve many purposes
in your local community and throughout the entire world.
Social Benefits
• Trees provide beauty and help people feel serene,
peaceful, restful and tranquil.
• Trees significantly reduce workplace stress and fatigue
and decrease recovery time after medical procedures.
• Trees may help reduce criminal activity
Economic Benefits
• Property values of landscaped homes are 5%– 20%
higher than non-landscaped homes.
• Individual trees have value that is affected by size,
condition, and function. In general, the larger the tree,
the greater the value.
• Air conditioning costs are lower in a tree-shaded home;
and heating costs are reduced when a home has a
windbreak.
• Well-maintained trees can add value to a home.
Communal Benefits
• City trees often serve architectural and engineering
functions by providing privacy, emphasizing views or
obstructing objectionable views.
• Trees may reduce glare/reflection or direct
pedestrian traffic.
• Trees may soften, complement, or enhance architecture.
• Trees bring natural elements and wildlife habitats into
urban surroundings, all of which increase the quality of
life for residents in the community.
Environmental Benefits
A: Leaves filter the air we breathe by removing dust and
other particles; absorbing carbon dioxide and various
air pollutants such as ozone, carbon monoxide and sulfur
dioxide; and release oxygen.
B: Deciduous shade trees cool homes in the summer
and allow the winter sun to heat homes when they
lose their leaves.
C: Trees help cool the environment, working as a simple and
effective way to reduce urban heat islands (pavement and
buildings in commercial areas cause higher temperatures
by absorbing the sun’s heat).
D: Trees can serve as a windbreak. The more compact
the foliage on the group of trees the more effective the
windbreak.
E: Trees intercept water, store some of it and reduce
stormwater runoff.
Trees Require an Investment
Trees provide numerous aesthetic and economic benefits,
but can have costs. The costs associated with large
tree removal and replanting with a smaller tree can be
significant. In addition, the economic and environmental
benefits produced by a young replacement tree are minimal
when compared to those of a mature specimen.
Extending the functional lifespan of large, mature trees
with routine maintenance can delay these expenses and
maximize returns.
