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CITY OF PLEASANTON URBAN FOREST MASTER PLAN | 27 STATUS OF THE URBAN FOREST 1.4.3 Environmental and Economic Benefits Trees provide environmental benefits that hold real economic value for the City. These benefits contribute directly to the communities’ quality of life and the livability of Pleasanton and so it is important to quantify them. The environmental benefits were calculated for the City-managed tree inventory using i-Tree Eco, (USFS 2022), a free software developed by the U.S. Forest Service that calculates the value of trees using the attributes of the collected tree inventory data for a specific area such as species, diameter at standard height (DSH), and health condition. The i-Tree Eco analysis utilized data from 23,301 trees in the City inventory to estimate the annual carbon sequestration, stormwater diversion, and air pollution removal benefits by publicly managed trees. These values are known as the environmental benefits provided by trees and are displayed in Table 1-3. Quantifying tree benefits helps frame publicly-managed trees as a City asset, and justifies the use of urban forestry funding and staffing resources to ensure the City’s trees can continue providing environmental benefits for the community. Appendix A contains the entire i-Tree Eco report for the City’s publicly managed tree inventory. The financial value of Pleasanton’s tree inventory is presented in Table 1-4. The replacement value also referred to as the structural value of all of Pleasanton’s trees is estimated to be $99.4 million, or $4,266 per tree. This reflects the estimated cost to replace every tree in the inventory of the same species, size, condition, etc. The functional value represents the annual value of the environmental services that the trees provide Table 1-3. Environmental Benefits Provided by City-Managed Tree Inventory Impact Quantity (Annually) Translation Carbon Sequestration (carbon dioxide removed from air by trees) 333.2 tons Carbon removed from the City’s air by the urban forest is equivalent to annual carbon emissions from 72 cars. Avoided Runoff 1.4 million gallons That volume of runoff would fill a football field to a depth of over four feet of water. Equivalent to the average annual water usage of 3,215 American homes. Air Pollution Removal (ozone, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, particulate matter < 2.5 µm) 5.3 tons Equivalent to the annual nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and sulfur dioxide emissions from 1.6 cars Sources: i-Tree 2024, Environmental Protection Agency’s Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator