Post Oaks on FUMC Campus Benefit Our Community

Street Tree Survey Completed in Irving Heritage District

One of my businesses includes working for the Texas Forest Service and various municipalities providing web and engineering consulting regarding tree science, GIS and related matters. I thought it was quite interesting that the partnered groups chose the campus of First United Methodist Church in Irving as the focal point for their search and type locality for the given tree types in the Heritage region. It is true the trees on our campus are quite stately. They are some of largest and healthiest in Irving. As an addendum to this article , I'll do a mini-survey of my own using the numbers from this report to calculate the net worth of our trees to our church body and then from the natural benefits that tress provide, the community benefit provided by our "churched" post oaks. [Doug Pierson, webmaster]

The following is a report summary for a regional analysis done by those mentioned in the text written by Micah Pace, Regional Urban Forester, Texas Forest Service.

On May 21st, 2009 the Texas Forest Service Regional Urban Forester, Micah Pace, worked with the Heritage District Neighborhood Association, with the support of the City of Irving Green Advisory Committee to conduct a street tree inventory and resource analysis for all public trees within the one square mile area of the City of Irving Historical District.
With the help of approximately 50 volunteers, a total of 653 public trees were identified and measured within the study area.

• Of the ten most prevalent species identified, Post Oak (Quercus stellata) and Common Crapemyrtle (Lagerstroemia indica) dominate the landscape with 29% and 23%, respectively.

• 63% of all trees were evaluated as being in "Good" condition, with 23%, 11%, and 3% listed as "Fair", "Poor", and "Dying", respectively.

• 2.5% of all trees are of "Critical Concern" meaning that they represent a public safety concern.

• 3.6% of all trees require immediate removal.

• 4% of trees inventoried are associated with moderate to severe sidewalk damage.

• 23% of trees inventoried are associated with overhead utility wire conflicts.

• The inventoried trees represent a canopy coverage of 34% of total street/sidewalk area.

• Total Replacement Value for all trees is $5.6 Million.

• Average' tree provides $116 in benefits each year.

• Total Gross Annual Benefits for all trees across all benefit categories is $76,000.

• Nearly 50% of which come from the Large Post Oaks - Size Does Matter!
  

Ultimately, the long-term goal of the city is to establish a formal urban forestry program wherein a sustainable pruning and maintenance program to increase tree health and thus benefits is a major component.

For further information or questions about this project or how your community may benefit from a similar study please contact Micah Pace, Regional Urban Forester at mpace@tfs.tamu.edu or call 214-273-6687.

To view articles related to this research you may visit the Irving Rambler and the Dallas Morning News.

to find out more about trees of our region, visit the following local web sites:

• Texas Tree Trails
• Dallas Urban Forestry Advisory Committee
• Blacklands Urban Forestry Council
  

Submitted by: Micah Pace, Regional Urban Forester
Texas Forest Service