New project launched by The Open University
The latest citizen science project to be launched by The Open University is Treezilla – the Monster Map of Trees. This has the modest aim of mapping every tree in Britain, while emphasising the ecosystem services that trees provide. Once the trees in a particular area have been recorded and measured (diameter at breast height), Treezilla will provide an estimate of the various services that the trees provide, such as carbon dioxide storage and water conservation.
The ecosystem services provided by urban trees can have a large monetary value, for example a tiny part of central London, Victoria, has just 1,200 trees. A detailed analysis of the area showed they remove 1.2 tonnes of pollution with a value of £85,000 per year, and also attenuate 112,000 cubic metres of storm water with value of £50,000 per year. When these analyses have been carried out citywide in a few parts of North America and Europe, including all the different ecosystem services, then urban trees often have benefit values of tens of millions of pounds per year (these numbers take into account the costs associated with planting and maintaining the trees).
Anyone can add tree records to Treezilla via the website or app (Android or iOS). It’s also possible to bring existing datasets into Treezilla for display and editing, and a number of local authorities and other organisations are making use of this (for examples search for Edinburgh or Walsall on Treezilla), and the project is keen to hear from anyone who would like to share tree data in this way.
Written by Martin Harvey, on behalf of The Open University