Charlottetown’s Canopy Cover Study
To date, the City of Charlottetown has completed two tree canopy cover studies, one using 2014 imagery and the other using 2020 imagery. This analysis is a valuable monitoring tool to see potential growth or loss in urban tree cover. The study allows us to see which municipal wards have overall tree canopy growth (ideal) or overall tree canopy loss (not ideal). These results allow the City to make urban forest management decisions and guides future programming.
Charlottetown's tree cover is essential to the city. Trees filter air pollution, provide oxygen, moderate air temperatures, reduce soil erosion, manage stormwater, buffer noise, provide food and homes for wildlife, improve the health and well-being of people, add beauty and in light of climate change, are key to managing that concern.
Results for Charlottetown
2020 Imagery: 20.91% tree cover in Charlottetown
Over a six year timeframe, from 2014-2020, the overall tree canopy in Charlottetown declined by 1.29%. This study does not tell us exactly where trees were lost or for what reasons. What we do know is that during that timeframe, Charlottetown had to remove hundreds of elm trees, as they were infected with Dutch elm disease. On a positive note, in 2019, the City of Charlottetown created a Tree Protection Bylaw, which protects public and heritage trees and outlines compensation plantings when public trees are lost.
All wards across Charlottetown saw slight losses in tree cover compared to relative 2008 data, with the exception of one ward, which saw increases. The table below shows these details:
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Ward #
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Ward Name
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Total Area (km2)
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2008
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2020
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1
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Queens Square
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1.78
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0.42
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0.36
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2
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Belvedere
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2.99
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0.64
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0.61
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3
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Brighton
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1.81
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0.67
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0.6
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4
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St. Avards
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3.1
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0.63
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0.55
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5
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Spring Park
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2.28
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0.52
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0.44
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6
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Mount Edward
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2.22
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0.81
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0.72
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7
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Beach Grove
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5.5
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1.3
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1.26
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8
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Highfield
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9.72
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1.81
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1.76
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9
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Stonepark
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10.15
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1.84
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1.68
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10
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Falconwood
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4.55
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1.11
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1.24
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TOTAL
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44.1
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9.75
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9.22
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2014 Imagery: 22.2% tree cover in Charlottetown
The results in pie chart below, show that trees and shrubs make up about 22% of the overall land cover in Charlottetown. Impervious surfaces had a similar result at 21%. Grass and herbaceous plants are the most common cover class in the City and account for about 43% of the land cover. Bare ground and water make up the final 13% of the land cover in Charlottetown.
Economic Benefits
Using peer reviewed formulas, the 2014 iTree study quantified economic benefits, such as removal of pollution and carbon storage, based on the canopy cover in Charlottetown (table below).
