What's a Tree Worth?

Is it really worth your while to plant a tree?

According to a group of grad students, the answer is a big "yes."

The group actually completed an inventory of the trees on Cornell's campus, excluding those growing in a wooded area nearby. When they were done, they'd counted more than 7,000 trees, including one 350-year-old oak and a vast pignut hickory.

They also calculated the value of the trees to the university. To do this, they ran their collected data through a software program called STRATUM. According to NewsWise, STRATUM is able to estimate "energy savings, carbon sequestration, storm water mitigation and the replacement value of trees."

What they found is that Cornell's trees store about 14 million pounds of carbon and 740,000 pounds of carbon dioxide each year. This natural phenomenon "provides total annual benefits in ecosystem services of more than $570,000 per year; and would cost $19 million to replace."

This huge number doesn't even include the savings in energy costs realized by the university as a result of shade provided by trees, or the value added to the university's real estate by mature plantings.

All in all, it seems that tree planting has advantages that can be counted in cold cash. Helpful information when you're about to start clear-cutting an old growth forest!

Photo courtesy of stock.xchng