Mayor's Green Ribbon Panel says Planting, Species Selection and Maintenance of Trees Will Create More Vibrant City - Nashville, TN

Survey shows Nashville needs to concentrate on tree planting | Nashville City Paper: Nashville's Online Source for Daily News:
A new tree canopy assessment released Wednesday by Metro says a greater emphasis on appropriate planting, species selection and maintenance is needed to create a vibrant urban forest in downtown Nashville.

The report, dubbed the Metro Tree Canopy Assessment Project, is a product of the Metro Beautification and Environment Commission and the Metro Tree Advisory Committee. The assessment is part of a new Tree Master Plan recommended by Mayor Karl Dean’s Green Ribbon Committee.

According to the report, there are 2,059 trees in downtown Nashville. The revised downtown tree inventory projects a potential annual savings for the city of $71,857 by reducing the cost of energy, carbon dioxide and storm water runoff, while increasing air quality and property values. The inventory found that the London plane tree is most abundant (13.8 percent of the inventory), followed by Japanese zelkova (8.1 percent); Willow Oak (7.5 percent); Sweetgum (7.2 percent); and Chinese Elm (5.9 percent).