Plant trees this fall to preserve Nebraska's community forest resource

By Becky Erdkamp and Jessica Kelling

Our community forests are the trees in our parks and surrounding our homes, businesses and buildings. Both individually and as a whole, these trees provide clean air and water, increase property values, increase consumer spending in business districts, reduce heating and cooling costs and reduce the need for “hard infrastructure” by extending the life of roadways and managing stormwater runoff.

A healthy community forest can also foster economic development by supporting businesses, creating jobs and generating rural and urban income. Research shows that trees also provide a host of social and physical benefits, such as reducing noise, reducing crime, improving concentration among children with ADHD, increasing self-esteem in preteen girls and decreasing the incidence of obesity, diabetes and asthma, all emerging childhood epidemics. 

These benefits, collectively referred to as ecosystem services, preserve Nebraska’s “Good Life” by making our communities more livable.

But our community forests are in trouble.

A combination of severe weather (e.g., 1991 freeze, 1997 snowstorm, 2007 ice storm, tornadoes and high wind events), chronic drought, poor planting practices, poor species selection, the rapid spread of pine wilt, and a preponderance of older trees nearing or past their average life span have severely reduced the number of trees in our communities across the state. In fact, community forest inventories conducted by the Nebraska Forest Service indicate that Nebraska has lost nearly half its community forest canopy since the late 1970s.

Another threat lurks on the horizon with the approach of emerald ash borer (EAB), a highly invasive exotic insect that attacks and kills all native species of ash trees, including white, green, black and autumn purple ash. Emerald ash borer is present in more than a dozen states and two Canadian provinces, where it has killed more than 50 million ash trees and caused billions of dollars in damages. Within the last year, EAB has been confirmed in Wisconsin and Missouri, putting the insect on Nebraska’s doorstep.

Because of its adaptability and attractive fall foliage, ash has long been popular in landscapes across Nebraska and the northern Plains. When EAB arrives—and forestry experts agree it’s a matter of when, not if—Nebraska stands to lose approximately 37 million ash trees in communities, conservation plantings and native woodlands across the state. An estimated 2.2 million of these ash trees are in Nebraska communities, representing approximately 25 percent of our overall community forest resource. These trees provide more than $120 million in ecosystem services annually. The cost for removing, disposing of and replanting urban trees killed by EAB could reach $1.65 billion.

Now is the time to act.

J. Sterling Morton wrote that “Each generation takes the earth as trustees. We ought to bequeath to posterity as many forests and orchards as we have exhausted and consumed.”

The trees that grace our communities today were planted by people with the foresight to know that they would benefit future generations. Now is our opportunity to leave our legacy and show we have that same vision by taking steps to preserve and restore our community forests.

Through a network of more than 200 ambassadors in 88 communities, ReTree Nebraska, a 10-year cooperative initiative to restore and revitalize Nebraska’s community forests, is reaching out to educate individuals across the state about the importance of trees in our communities and the role species diversity plays in a healthy community forest.

Many people don’t know that fall is a great time for planting trees in Nebraska. When properly planted, many tree species are able to quickly establish their root systems thanks to fall’s lower temperatures and reduced humidity. This allows young trees to prepare for the upcoming winter and gives them a jumpstart on spring growth.

Many people also don’t know that there are many tree species that grow well in Nebraska but are often overlooked for better-known species, such as green ash, silver maple, Siberian elm and hackberry. Ironically, our tendency for establishing community monocultures is a big contributor to our community forests’ decline. In communities across Nebraska, streets are lined with beautiful, mature green ash, which will likely vanish when EAB arrives, and fast-growing species, such as silver maple and Siberian elm, that are more prone to storm damage than slower-growing species such as oaks.

To promote the variety of trees that will thrive in Nebraska landscapes, ReTree Nebraska has developed its “Nine for 2009,” a list of nine species that are well suited for landscapes across the state. To see the list or to find out where you can purchase these species and others that are well suited for fall planting, visit http://www.retreenebraska.unl.edu.

So, if you didn’t get a tree planted for Arbor Day, grab your shovel, because there’s still plenty of time. ReTree Nebraska Week will be celebrated Sept. 19–26 with tree plantings across the state. If there’s not a ReTree Nebraska Week event scheduled for your community, organize one. Plant a tree in your yard, or help a neighbor plant a tree in theirs. Every tree counts.

ReTree Nebraska is a cooperative initiative of the Nebraska Forest Service, Nebraska Statewide Arboretum, Inc., University of Nebraska-Lincoln Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska Rural Initiative, Nebraska Community Forestry Council and the university’s Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

For more information about EAB and to find out what’s being done in Nebraska to prepare for the insect, visit http://www.nfs.unl.edu/EAB.

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