United States

Department

of Agriculture

Methods:

1 Benefits and costs were quantified for typical 

large, medium, and small deciduous trees

1 The analysis assumed that trees were planted in 

a residential yard, public park or street-side with 

a 60-percent survival rate over 40 years

1 Tree care costs were based on results from a 

survey of municipal and commercial arborists

1 Benefits were calculated using tree growth curves 

and numerical models that consider regional 

climate, building characteristics, air-pollutant 

concentrations, and prices

Benefits analyzed:

1 Energy savings (electricity and natural gas)

1 Air pollution reduction (carbon dioxide, nitrogen 

dioxide, sulfur dioxide, ozone, airborne particles, 

and volatile organic compounds)

1 Runoff reduction (rainfall interception)

1 Property values

Forest

Service

Pacific Southwest

Research Station

Costs analyzed:

1 Tree purchase and planting

1 Pruning

1 Irrigation 

1 Pest and disease prevention and control

1 Removal and disposal 

1 Sidewalk repair

1 Leaf litter clean up

1 Liability, legal aspects, administration

Project partners included the City of Albuquerque’s 

Parks and Recreation Department, GIS Department, 

and Hydrology Division; Davey Resource Group; the 

University of New Mexico; USDA Forest Service State 

and Private Forestry; U&CF Program Coordinator, 

New Mexico Forestry Division. 

Resources:

Anderson, L.M.; Cordell, H.K. 1998. Residential property 

values improve by landscaping with trees. Southern Journal 

of Applied Forestry. 9: 162–166. 

Neely, D., ed. 1998. Valuation of landscape trees, shrubs, 

and other plants, 7th ed. Urbana, IL: International Society 

of Arboriculture. 

Sullivan, W.C.; Kuo, F.E. 1996. Do trees strengthen urban communities, reduce domestic violence? Arborist News. 5: 33–34.

Vargas, K.E.; McPherson, E.G.; Simpson, J.R.; Peper, P.J.; 

Gardner, S.L.; Xiao Q. 2007. Interior west community tree 

guide: benefits, costs, and strategic planting. Gen. Tech. Rep. 

PSW-GTR-205. Davis, CA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station. 105 p.

Wolf, K.L. 1999. Nature and commerce: human ecology in 

business districts. In Kollin, C., ed. Building cities of green: 

Proceedings of the 1999 National Urban Forest Conference. 

Washington DC: American Forests: 56–59.

Pacific Southwest Research Station 

scientists show that...

It pays to care for trees

Albuquerque, New Mexico, is the reference city for 

the i-Tree Streets program's Interior West Climate 

Region. Base data were collected there during 

the summer of 2005. To learn how to use this 

information to calculate costs and benefits for any 

community in the Interior West (shown in brown 

on the map), refer to the Interior West Community 

Tree Guide at http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/programs/

uesd/uep/tree_guides.php. To learn more about 

i-Tree Streets, visit http://www.itreetools.org. 

May 2010

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its 

pro-grams and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, 

and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, 

sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or 

part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not 

all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require 

alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, 

audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202)720-2600 (voice 

and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Director, Office 

of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue S.W., Washington, DC 20250-9410, or 

call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. 

United States

Department

of Agriculture

Forest

Service

Pacific Southwest

Research Station

Pay Us Back

In the Interior West Region
The Value of a Tree 

in the Interior West

© Marble Street Studio

© Marble Street Studio

Healthy people

Each year, one hundred 

large, mature street trees

1 Remove 31 tons of 

carbon dioxide (CO2)

1 Remove 458 pounds 

of other air pollutants

1 Catch about 124,500 

gallons of rainwater

Homeowner savings

One well-placed large tree

1 Provides average savings of $24 in 

home air conditioning costs each year

Healthy communities

Tree-filled neighborhoods

1 Report lower levels of 

domestic violence

1 Are safer and more sociable

1 Reduce stress of body and 

mind 

1 Decrease need for medication 

and speed recovery times

Better business

In tree-lined commercial 

districts, shoppers report

1 More frequent shopping

1 Longer shopping trips

1 Willingness to pay more 

for parking

1 Willingness to spend 12 

percent more for goods

Higher property values

Trees increase the resale value 

of houses

1 Each large front yard tree adds 1 

percent to the sales price of a house

1 Large specimen trees can add 

10 percent to property value

It pays to care for trees

A large tree in the Interior West will provide nearly $3,100 in environmental 

and other benefits over its lifetime. That’s a 450-percent return on investment!

Trees produce benefits for us when 

we plant and nurture them in our 

urban environments. The Urban 

Ecosystems and Social Dynamics 

Program at the USDA Forest Service 

Pacific Southwest Research Station 

is assessing the ways trees pay 

us back and their value to us.

Properly cared 

for, trees are 

valuable and 

growing assets 

worth four and 

a half times the 

investment.

Healthy trees mean:

One large public tree, 40 years

after planting , averaged:

Annual benefits .............................$77

Annual costs ...................................$17

Annual net benefit .......................$60

Over 40 years, 

100 large public trees total:

Benefits .................................$307,200

Costs ....................................... $68,240

40-year net benefit ........... $238,960

Landscape trees provide benefits that far exceed 

the costs of planting and care over their lifetime.

Environmental and esthetic benefits, such as 

energy savings, stormwater runoff reduction, 

cleaner air, and higher property values, are worth 

several times the amount of tree care costs.

The greatest benefits are energy savings from 

cooling and higher property values. 

$3,100