What’s the value of a tree that keeps growing year after year? Researchers have tried to calculate exactly that. Working with a dataset of about 900,000 trees that line public streets in California, the scientists sought to place a dollar value on the services those trees perform, which include energy savings, carbon storage, air pollutant uptake, and rainfall interception. They came to an annual contribution of about $1 billion or nearly $111 per tree for each of the state’s 9.1 million street trees.
Free growing wealth: A tree contributes $111 to the public good each year
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