But tree cover in US cities is shrinking. A study published last year by the US Forest Service found that we lost 36 million trees annually
from urban and rural communities over a five-year period. That’s a 1% drop from 2009 to 2014.
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If we continue on this path, “cities will become warmer, more polluted and generally more unhealthy for inhabitants,” said David Nowak, a senior US Forest Service scientist and co-author of the study.
Nowak says there are many reasons our tree canopy is declining, including hurricanes, tornadoes, fires, insects and disease. But the one reason for tree loss that humans can control is sensible development.
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