Location: Leicestershire, England
The Value of Trees Project was set up in recognition of the increasing challenges being faced in ensuring the continued presence and resilience of trees along highways. These challenges include climate change, threats from pests and diseases, continued highway safety, and the issue of responsibility for future tree management and maintenance.
Commissioned by The Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning, and Transport (ADEPT), and funded by the Rees Jeffreys Road Fund, Leicestershire County Council’s toolkit consists of several components brought together in the Value of Trees report.
How it started
The project followed an inventory of council-owned highways trees, completed by Treeconomics, which identified 82,600 trees. It rose from a desire to better understand and apply good urban forestry practices.
The toolkit overview
The toolkit consisted of a species selection matrix and an ecosystem service delivery matrix, brought together in The Value of Trees report. The report presents the details and applications of the tools within the context of Leicestershire’s strategic approach to urban forestry and best practices.
A detailed policy review identified the scope and direction of management in Leicestershire going forward. This highlighted the priorities for the council, which can inform decisions and potential funding for planting and management.
The tools
The species selection matrix was intended as a lookup tool to identify ideal species for a given site with certain constraints. It consisted of a species list with physical tolerances (such as drought, shade, salt, etc.) and ecosystem service provisions (ranked as high, medium or low performance).
The ecosystem service delivery matrix is an Excel lookup tool which gives the expected ecosystem service delivery and value for each tree species at various life stages. This can be used both for species selection, and for advocating for specific trees within Leicestershire.
Ash Dieback
Understanding the impact of Ash Dieback is a critical step towards managing the diseased trees, reducing risks, and improving the resilience of the urban forest for the future. A local estimation indicates that 75% of Ash in Leicestershire could be impacted – implying that 8,000 trees from a population of 10,700 may suffer.
We wanted to develop a considered strategy to delivering ecosystem services and create a consistent, evidence-based approach.
The result
The report takes into account the nuances of Leicestershire’s own policies, goals and targets with regards to forestry, planning and urban development, and presents clear information which can be used to guide decision making. It stands as an example of how Treeconomics can facilitate the creation of a user-friendly toolkit to make developing and managing the urban forest easier.
Going forward
For Leicestershire, this represents a huge leap in their understanding of, and approach to, management and enhancement of the urban forest. It is already being used to influence the council’s approach to urban greening, and the council is working to promote this toolkit across other local authorities as ‘good practice’.
Download the report here.
Treeconomics is the go-to organisation for the valuing of trees in towns and cities. We specialise in all aspects of urban forest management and offer a range of services, from canopy cover assessments through to comprehensive management plans.
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