CHARLOTTE, N.C. - A recent study revealed some sobering realities about development and urbanization in the Queen City.

 

What You Need To Know

  • Charlotte is losing more than three football fields of trees a day, according to a recent study

  • In the last six years, Charlotte has lost about 8 percent of it's tree canopy

  • The percentage of Charlotte covered by tree canopy fell from 49 to 45 percent between 2012 and 2018



The study was conducted by the University of Vermont, with the help of the non-profit TreesCharlotte. It found that Charlotte is losing three football fields worth of trees a day.

In 2012, city leaders made it a goal to reach 50 percent tree canopy coverage by 2050. But in fact, the city has moved in the opposite direction. The study found from 2012 to 2018 the city’s tree canopy fell from 49 percent to 45 percent.

Doug Shoemaker is the director of research at the Center for Applied Geographic Information Science at UNC Charlotte. He helped independently review the study.

“Knowing what we do today, we could have done better and we can do better,” Shoemaker says.

He said part of the loss is due to development. However it’s also due to homeowners taking down their own trees or natural disasters, he adds. He says the real worry is that the total loss could affect our daily lives.

“Charlotte will be hot, have more floods, and [will be] muddier,” Shoemaker says.

Developers in Charlotte are required to leave 10 percent of their land for tree preservation. The executive director for TreesCharlotte, Chuck Cole, said this could be stricter.

“If you are only requiring 10 percent by the time everything is developed, how much are you going to have left over? Ten percent, so we are going in the wrong direction,” Cole says.

Cole says it’s also important for homeowners to replant on their own property, particularly if a tree comes down.

“Education is the best tool we have, educating the public and residents about what they can do to help,” Cole says.

Right now, Charlotte city leaders are coming up with a 2040 master plan. Shoemaker says he hopes, within that plan, they have a way to address tree loss across the Queen City.

“We need to take action now in order to have our city, looking the way we want in 20 years,” Shoemaker says.

To see the full study, click here.