Nature - Community - Science
Tree Canopy
Chapter 7
Tree Canopy | Southern Central Regional Council of Governments (SCRCOG)
“Tree Canopy Cover is defined as the layer of trees, leaves, branches, and stems that provide tree coverage of the ground when viewed from above...Tree canopy maps can provide vital information to help governments and their citizens chart a greener future.” - SCRCOG
Benefits of Tree Canopy
Green infrastructure plays an important role in supporting sustainable and livable communities. Urbanization has exposed cities to threats like pollution, stormwater runoff, and extreme heat. Increasing tree canopy cover is one approach to address these challenges while improving environmental, social, and economic well-being.
Providing shade and removing heat-trapping gasses like carbon dioxide from the atmosphere combats extreme heat. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says that during peak temperatures shaded surfaces can be 20-45° F (11-25°C) cooler than unshaded ones. Urban vegetation can also cool down buildings, lessen the need for air conditioning, and decrease fossil fuel dependency as a result.
Roots from trees hold soil in place and allow for water infiltration that decreases stormwater runoff. Interception of rain by trees prevents pollution runoff from reaching rivers and lakes, reduces the strain on pipes following a storm, and averts flooding. As reported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, one mature tree can capture and retain up to 332 gallons of water each year.
Vegetation advances positive public health outcomes. Research has shown that trees foster mentally restorative experiences that minimize stress, anxiety, and depression. Trees also have a host of benefits for physical well-being. Removal of air pollutants mitigates respiratory conditions, shade from Ultraviolet Radiation (UVR) lowers skin cancer risk, milder temperatures curb heat-related morbidity, and green space access alleviates obesity by providing enjoyable environments to exercise.
Tree Canopy in Meriden
Meriden has an abundance of old trees and is relatively dense. These characteristics make it difficult to implement new greening programs. Current efforts are underway at Brookside Park where buffer plantings and park expansions contribute towards increased canopy cover. Tightening zoning regulations and identifying significant trees on development sites can help protect vegetation in the future.
The South Central Regional Council of Governments (SCRCOG) put together a tree canopy assessment of the Southern Connecticut Region. The document includes data and maps of the region’s green infrastructure with recommendations for future direction. We are using maps from this assessment to evaluate tree canopy cover in Meriden.
The SCRCOG map illustrates how Existing Tree Canopy is distributed throughout the region as a percentage of land area. Locations that are darker green indicate more trees compared to their lighter green counterparts. Least developed places have the highest percentage of trees while urbanized and coastal ecosystems have the lowest. The below reference image shows the region’s different towns and can be used to help identify Meriden on the tree canopy map.
Southern Connecticut Region Reference Map
Existing Tree Canopy by 2000-foot grid cells
Meriden is located at the top of the Southern Connecticut Region as indicated by the accompanied reference image. A variety of different canopy levels can be identified throughout the city. Based on 2015 land cover data from the University of Connecticut (UConn) Center for Land Use Education and Research (CLEAR), the majority of Meriden’s forests are deciduous.
Meriden is most forested in the northeast and northwest parts of the city where parks like Hubbard and Giuffrida reside. The inner district, where people live and work, has more impervious surfaces and therefore less canopy cover. Surrounding land along the Quinnipiac River also tends to be less vegetated because this is where development historically occurred in the past.
The next map indicates Possible Tree Canopy for the same grid cells. High potential spots are predominantly grass and shrub areas that have little canopy cover but are feasible for future trees. Low potential sites are those that already have a high percentage of trees or limited open green space.
The map serves as a guide for future analysis of where it may be most conducive to plant trees. However, increasing canopy cover is influenced by a number of considerations like financial and land use factors. It can be inferred from the maps that greening efforts should focus on the center of the city, particularly along neighborhood streets. Further analysis is needed to determine exactly which areas are most at risk and in need of vegetation.
Possible Tree Canopy by 2000-foot Grid Cells
Sources and Methods
Information about the benefits of tree canopy cover was derived from a 2020 research article published by the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. “Urban Trees and Human Health” draws conclusions from several thousand articles and over 200 related studies. Other sources are linked directly in the written portion.
Data and maps about the state of tree canopy cover in Meriden came from the 2019 Southern Connecticut Region Tree Canopy Assessment. The assessment was made possible by a partnership between the South Central Regional Council of Governments (SCRCOG) and the Vermont Spatial Analysis Laboratory. Land use maps and data specifically in Meriden were analyzed and obtained from the University of Connecticut (UConn) Center for Land Use Education and Research (CLEAR).
Tree Canopy Section Draft
Sustainability Section Draft