Ansine, Janice

Goodenough, Jessica

Wheeler, Philip

English

Open Research Online

Open Research OnlineThe Open University’s repository of research publicationsand other research outputsUsing a citizen science tool to model the healthbenefits of roadside treesConference or Workshop ItemHow to cite:Goodenough, Jessica; Ansine, Janice and Wheeler, Philip (2017). Using a citizen science tool to model thehealth benefits of roadside trees. In: Trees, People and the Built Environment 3 (TPBE3) Conference, 5-6 Apr 2017,University of Birmingham.For guidance on citations see FAQs.c© [not recorded]Version: Version of RecordCopyright and Moral Rights for the articles on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyrightowners. For more information on Open Research Online’s data policy on reuse of materials please consult the policiespage.oro.open.ac.ukJessica Goodenough, Research Assistant – Citizen ScienceJanice Ansine, Senior Project Manager – Citizen SciencePhilip Wheeler, Senior Lecturer in Ecologyjessica.goodenough@open.ac.ukjanice.ansine@open.ac.ukphilip.wheeler@open.ac.ukApril 2017Using a citizen science tool to model the health benefits of roadside trees@treezilla_orgHealth effects of air pollutionCardiovascular and pulmonary diseases linked to transportation40,000 deaths20 billion poundsRoadside trees improve the urban environment• Provide shade• Slow cars down• Reduce the urban heat island effect• Filter air pollutionPrevious studies on trees and particulate matter• Remote sensing (Tallis et al., 2011)• i-Tree Eco (Rogers et al., 2015)Valuing trees the citizen science way• OpenTreeMap: learning about the value of individual trees• Treezilla: developing a ‘monster map of trees’ for GBProject VITAL: Valuing Green Infrastructure Through Tree Assessment Toolswww.treezilla.orgBenefits of a citizen science approachTreezilla.org is a platform that canhelp:•Highlight the role of trees in urbanenvironments and the ecosystemservices they provide•Help the general public learn andcontribute•Acknowledge this contribution andits role in the care and welfare oftreesUsing Treezilla to study the removal of PM10 by roadside treesGrid roads and their trees• Milton Keynes: a new town planned with a network of grid roads• Unintended benefits of ‘screening’ the roadsGrid road trees mapped: ~430ha within 50m of carriagewayProportion of PM10 removal by 8 most common speciesPM10 removal across MK• 22.36 kg/ha• 9.6 tonnes overall for the planted area of grid roads in MK• 5.5-6.3% of estimated annual exposure for the high and low pollution scenarios respectivelyManaging roadside treesThinning to:• Promote larger trees• Improve visual amenity• Increase ground flora diversityEffects of thinning on PM10 removalValue of pollution reductionIn Treezilla:• £14,568 under current conditions; • £12,998 under the thinning scenario.By UK government figures:• £637,115 under current conditions; • £568,445 under the thinning scenario.Challenges• Mapping at street level difficult with consumer GPS• Co-ordinating citizen scientists at scale• Which figures to believe: PM10 and £££?Conclusion• A citizen science tool can provide sensible ball-park estimates of PM10 removal.• Uncertainties remain over precision of estimates and associated valuations.But these are not specific to the citizen science approach• Future developments will enhance the ability of Treezilla to contribute to baseline assessments and decisions over management.www.treezilla.orgProject VITAL funded byProject team Project partnersAcknowledgementsjessica.goodenough@open.ac.ukThank you!www.treezilla.org 

Using a citizen science tool to model the health benefits of roadside trees

http://oro.open.ac.uk/49569/1/Goodenough-et-al-Using-a-Citizen-Science-Tool-to-Model-the-Health-Benefits-of-Roadside-Trees-Research-paper.pdf

Using a citizen science tool to model the health benefits of roadside trees

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