City of Charlottetown Quantifies Impacts of Post-Tropical Storm Fiona on the Urban Forest
The City of Charlottetown has quantified the impact of post-tropical storm Fiona on the urban forest and determined the scale of efforts needed to undertake restoration efforts over the next 10 years.
The assessment, produced by Dougan and Associates, found that the City lost a staggering 15.7 per cent of the urban forest canopy, equivalent to the loss of 150 hectares of canopy cover. The City now has less than 17.6 per cent overall canopy cover, significantly lower than the North American average of 27 per cent.
The assessment estimates that over 12,600 mature trees were lost on both public and private land. Given the long-time line for trees to reach maturity, to restore the canopy to pre-Fiona levels within 10 years an estimated, 84,000 trees will need to be planted. The recommendation calls for a combination of small and large sized tree stock to be planted.
The report also recommends specific species to plant and diversity goals to ensure resiliency to changing climate conditions. New methodologies for planting were also proposed to reduce losses from high wind events and to expedite canopy growth.
The City will work with provincial and federal partners and local and national NGOs (such as Tree Canada and Ellen’s Creek and Wrights Creek Watershed groups) to develop a plan to implement a planting strategy to restore the canopy within 10 years.
Visit
charlottetown.ca/urbanforestry to view a full version of the report.