Understanding an urban forest's structure, function and value can promote management decisions that will improve human health and environmental quality. An assessment of the vegetation structure, function, and value of the Abbey Brook urban forest was conducted during 2017. Data from 6 field plots located throughout Abbey Brook were analyzed using the i-Tree Eco model developed by the U.S. Forest Service, Northern Research Station.
The urban forest of Abbey Brook has an estimated 5,976 trees with a tree cover of 69.7 percent. The three
most common species are White oak (30.0 percent), Red maple (20.0 percent), and Black locust (13.3 percent).
Pollution removal by trees and shrubs in Abbey Brook i-Tree was estimated using field data and recent available
pollution and weather data available. Pollution removal was greatest for ozone. It is estimated that trees
and shrubs remove 1840 pounds of air pollution (ozone (O3), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2),
particulate matter less than 2.5 microns (PM2.5)2
, and sulfur dioxide (SO2)) per year with an associated value of $7.54 thousand. The gross sequestration of Abbey Brook trees is about 71.48 tons of carbon per year with an associated value of $9.27 thousand. Net carbon
sequestration in the urban forest is about 35.43 tons.
The trees and shrubs of Abbey Brook i-Tree help
to reduce runoff by an estimated 70.3 thousand cubic feet. a year with an associated value of $4.7 thousand
i-Tree ECO Ecosystem
Study & Report