Why trees matter

Trees quietly pay you back.

In lower energy use, cooler summers, calmer streets, and more. Here’s what research has found, in plain language, with every source listed below.

  • Money
  • Health
  • Climate
  • Community

Explore by who you are

What trees do for you.

Pick the kind of property you care about, then filter by the kind of benefit. Every card shows how strong the evidence is.

Homeowners: the short version

Well-placed, well-cared-for trees can shade your home, help manage rainwater, and are associated with higher home values. Good care protects that investment.

Apartment communities: the short version

Shade makes outdoor spaces more usable, and research links greener surroundings to fewer reported crimes. Healthy, well-kept trees are part of how a community feels.

Commercial & retail: the short version

Shoppers in surveys have favored tree-lined business districts, and tree canopy is associated with cooler daytime air in summer.

HOAs & campuses: the short version

Canopy across common areas helps with summer heat and rainwater, and street trees are associated with property values across a neighborhood. An inventory and a plan keep that shared asset managed.

The wider community: the short version

Greener neighborhoods are associated with less crime and cooler summer air, and time in forest settings has been linked to lower stress markers. These benefits add up street by street.

  • Money Well established

    Lower energy use

    A national USDA Forest Service study estimated that trees reduce residential energy use in the U.S. by about 7.2% on average, by shading buildings, cooling the air, and changing wind around homes. [1]

    Most relevant for: Homeowners, Apartment communities, Commercial & retail, HOAs & campuses

  • Money Well established

    Higher home values

    A 2010 study of home sales in Portland, Oregon, found street trees added $8,870 to sale prices on average and cut time on the market by 1.7 days. The benefit spilled over to neighboring homes. [2]

    Most relevant for: Homeowners, HOAs & campuses, The wider community

  • Money Well established

    Help with stormwater

    Tree canopies catch rain, slow runoff, and help water soak into the soil. A USDA Forest Service review found they work best in short, light storms, and are one part of managing rainwater. [3]

    Most relevant for: Homeowners, Commercial & retail, HOAs & campuses, The wider community

  • Money Growing evidence

    Shoppers favor trees

    Surveys of people across the U.S. found they favored business districts with trees, and that preference showed up in how they rated the district, how they said they would shop there, and the prices they expected to pay. [4]

    Most relevant for: Commercial & retail

  • Climate Well established

    Cooler summer air

    In a 2019 study in a mid-sized Upper Midwest city, researchers measured summer air temperature block by block. Daytime temperatures fell as tree canopy increased, most sharply once canopy cover passed about 40%. [5]

    Most relevant for: Homeowners, Apartment communities, Commercial & retail, HOAs & campuses, The wider community

  • Community Growing evidence

    Fewer reported crimes

    A 2001 study of 98 apartment buildings in an inner-city neighborhood found that the greener a building’s surroundings, the fewer crimes were reported, for both property and violent crimes. [6]

    Most relevant for: Apartment communities, The wider community

  • Community Growing evidence

    Canopy and crime

    In Baltimore City and County, a 10% increase in tree canopy was associated with roughly 12% less crime (robbery, burglary, theft, and shooting), though a few areas showed the opposite (2012). [7]

    Most relevant for: HOAs & campuses, Commercial & retail, The wider community

  • Community Growing evidence

    Greening vacant lots

    In a 2018 Philadelphia trial, cleaning and greening vacant lots (new grass, a few trees, a low fence, and upkeep) was followed by 29% less gun violence in neighborhoods below the poverty line. This measured greening overall, not trees alone. [8]

    Most relevant for: The wider community

  • Health Growing evidence

    Lower stress markers

    In field experiments in 24 forests across Japan, 280 young adults had lower cortisol (a stress hormone), pulse, and blood pressure in forest settings than in city settings (2010). [9]

    Most relevant for: Homeowners, Apartment communities, HOAs & campuses, The wider community

  • Health Emerging research

    Immune activity

    In a small 2008 study of 12 men in Japan, a three-day forest trip raised the activity of natural killer (NK) cells, part of the immune system, for more than a week. A similar city trip did not. [10]

    Most relevant for: The wider community

  • Health Emerging research

    Natural tree compounds

    Trees release natural compounds, including terpenes such as alpha- and beta-pinene. When 12 men slept three nights in a hotel room with vaporized cypress oil, their NK cell activity rose and stress hormones in urine fell (2009). [11]

    Most relevant for: The wider community

Well established: shade and cooling, stormwater, energy, and property value, backed by long-running research.

Growing evidence: several studies point the same way, but they show associations, not proof of cause.

Emerging research: early, small studies. Interesting, but not settled.

General education only. This is not medical advice. These studies measured specific things in specific groups of people; they don’t show that trees prevent, treat, or cure any disease.

Where we come in

Benefits grow with healthy trees.

A tree can only give back for as long as it thrives. Thoughtful care, a plan, and a clear record help keep your trees healthy for the long run.

Plant health care Tree inventories & plans How trees work

Sources

  1. Nowak, D.J., Appleton, N., Ellis, A., & Greenfield, E. (2017). Residential building energy conservation and avoided power plant emissions by urban and community trees in the United States. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 21, 158–165. USDA Forest Service. View source
  2. Donovan, G.H., & Butry, D.T. (2010). Trees in the city: Valuing street trees in Portland, Oregon. Landscape and Urban Planning, 94, 77–83. USDA Forest Service. View source
  3. Kuehler, E., Hathaway, J., & Tirpak, A. (2017). Quantifying the benefits of urban forest systems as a component of the green infrastructure stormwater treatment network. Ecohydrology, 10(3). USDA Forest Service. View source
  4. Wolf, K.L. (2005). Business district streetscapes, trees, and consumer response. Journal of Forestry, 103(8), 396–400. USDA Forest Service. View source
  5. Ziter, C.D., Pedersen, E.J., Kucharik, C.J., & Turner, M.G. (2019). Scale-dependent interactions between tree canopy cover and impervious surfaces reduce daytime urban heat during summer. PNAS, 116(15), 7575–7580. View source
  6. Kuo, F.E., & Sullivan, W.C. (2001). Environment and crime in the inner city: Does vegetation reduce crime? Environment and Behavior, 33(3), 343–367. View source
  7. Troy, A., Grove, J.M., & O’Neil-Dunne, J. (2012). The relationship between tree canopy and crime rates across an urban–rural gradient in the greater Baltimore region. Landscape and Urban Planning, 106, 262–270. USDA Forest Service. View source
  8. Branas, C.C., et al. (2018). Citywide cluster randomized trial to restore blighted vacant land and its effects on violence, crime, and fear. PNAS, 115(12), 2946–2951. View source
  9. Park, B.J., Tsunetsugu, Y., Kasetani, T., Kagawa, T., & Miyazaki, Y. (2010). The physiological effects of Shinrin-yoku (taking in the forest atmosphere or forest bathing): evidence from field experiments in 24 forests across Japan. Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine, 15, 18–26. View source
  10. Li, Q., et al. (2008). Visiting a forest, but not a city, increases human natural killer activity and expression of anti-cancer proteins. International Journal of Immunopathology and Pharmacology, 21(1), 117–127. View source
  11. Li, Q., et al. (2009). Effect of phytoncide from trees on human natural killer cell function. International Journal of Immunopathology and Pharmacology, 22(4), 951–959. View source

Summaries are ours, kept close to each source’s own findings. Numbers are reported only where the source states them, with the place and year of the study.

Let’s start with a conversation

Your trees have a story.
We’re here to listen.

Tell us what you’re noticing. We’ll help you understand it—and decide what, if anything, should happen next. We reply to every request the same day.

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