title: An inventory of trees in Dublin city centre.
abstract: While urban areas are often considered to be comprised chiefly of artificial surfaces, they can contain a substantial portion of green space and a great diversity of natural habitats. These spaces include public parks, private gardens and street trees, all of which can provide valuable environmental services, such as improved air quality. Trees play a particular role in cities as they are often placed along roadsides and in the median strip of busy streets. As such they regulate access to sunshine, restrict airflow, provide shelter, scavenge air pollutants and manage noise at the street level. A tree planting policy can be an important part of a broader environmental strategy aimed at improving the quality of life in urban areas but this requires up-to-date knowledge of the current tree stock, which does not exist for Dublin. This article presents an inventory of trees in Dublin's city centre, defined as the area between the Grand and Royal canals. The results show that there are over 10,000 trees in the study area representing a density of 684 trees km-2 or one tree to approximately every 50 residents of the city centre. The tree canopy extent when in full foliage was nearly 1 km2 in extent or 6% of the study area. A more detailed analysis of those trees planted along streets shows little species variation but clear distinction in the sizes of trees, which is indicative of the age of planting. These data are used to estimate the carbon stored in Dublin's trees.
authors.affiliation: University College Dublin .
authors.forename: Tine
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ningal
authors.forename: Gerald
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mills
authors.forename: Pamela
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Smithwick
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000191:economics / Q000266:history; D002947:Cities / Q000191:economics / Q000208:ethnology / Q000266:history / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D002965:Classification; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000191:economics / Q000266:history / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D004782:Environmental Health / Q000191:economics / Q000193:education / Q000266:history; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000191:economics / Q000266:history / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D007494:Ireland / Q000208:ethnology; D009624:Noise, Transportation / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000523:psychology; D013472:Sunlight; D014197:Trees; D014504:Urban Health / Q000266:history; D014505:Urban Population / Q000266:history; D014506:Urban Renewal / Q000191:economics / Q000193:education / Q000266:history / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants