What Are Your Trees Worth?

Almost everyone knows that trees and other living plants are valuable. They beautify our surroundings, purify our air, act as sound barriers, manufacture precious oxygen, and help us save energy through their cooling shade in summer and their wind reduction in winter.

Many people don’t realize, however, that plants have a dollar value of their own that can be measured by competent plant appraisers.

If your trees or shrubs are damaged or destroyed, you may be able to recapture your loss through an insurance claim or as a deduction from your federal income tax.

Why should I hire an arborist?

A: Trees restore natural harmony in an urban environment, giving scale to human life. Trees are alive, like us, and require an investment and continuous maintenance in order to provide the maximum desired benefits. Some benefits include:

Air Filtration? filters out particulate matter and absorbing harmful gases
Purifies Water? slows and filters rain water and protects aquifers & watersheds
Cost Reduction? reduces yearly heating and cooling costs by 2.1 billion dollars
Climate Control? obtained by moderating the effects of sun, wind, and rain
Increase Property Value? well-cared landscape properties are 5-20% more valuable than non-landscaped estates.

For a healthy and long life, trees need the proper maintenance. Therefore, in order to provide proper tree care, you should refer to a certified arborist.

Trees Have Value

Damaged Trees May Have Monetary Value

Atlanta, Ga- While it's impossible to prevent storms, accidents, and air pollution from causing damage to your trees and plants, it is possible to recapture your landscape losses through an insurance claim, or as a deduction from federal income taxes, advises ISA.

How much are your trees worth? Most likely more than you think. Homeowners invest a lot of time, care, and money into landscaping their property, expecting beauty and shade in return. But the unexpected "return" on that investment is that trees have monetary value as well.

When you stop to consider that landscaping can be worth up to 20 percent of your home's total property value, you'll understand why it's worthwhile to protect the investment you've made in your greenery. According to the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA), a tree's value is based on four factors: tree size, tree type, tree condition, and overall tree location based on its functional and aesthetic purposes. A professional tree and landscape appraiser can determine where your trees or plants fall under these categories.

If your trees and landscape are damaged, ISA recommends that you:
# Contact your homeowner's insurance company.
# Have the insurance company send a professional tree and landscaping appraiser out to your property immediately after the damage has occurred.
# Have the appraiser determine your financial loss, including the cost of removal and repair.
# Contact a local ISA Certified Arborist, like Atlanta Arbor Care, if repair or replacement is needed.

Just as you would with any other valuable asset, document your investment in landscaping to help establish its worth. ISA suggests taking pictures of trees and plants while they are healthy to make insurance processing simpler with "before and after" examples.

The International Society of Arboriculture (ISA), headquartered in Champaign, Ill., is a nonprofit organization supporting tree care research around the world. As part of ISA's dedication to the care and preservation of shade and ornamental trees, it offers the only internationally-recognized certification program in the industry. For more information, contact a local ISA Certified Arborist or visit www.isa-arbor.com.
http://www.arboristatlanta.com

Where's Tom Coffin?

It has come to my attention that beautiful trees all over The Great City of Atlanta are disappearing in mass quantity. Just the other day I was driving down West Paces Ferry Road, when I noticed one of the most magnificent Beech trees completely mutilated by a developer building a monstrosity of a home. This particular tree was on the corner of Rembrandt, but this is not an isolated event. Don't get me wrong, I like trees but I am no fanatic. I cut down trees for a living! I am just baffled that the city of Atlanta Arborist's Division allows this type of genocide to take place but if a homeowner wants to remove a single pesky mulberry tree, they get put through the ringer. It seems to me that this defeats the entire purpose of a Tree Ordinance in the first place. Is that what it's originator, Tom Coffin, intended. I don't think so. It is just too bad that he lost his job defending his own creation, otherwise we could ask him. I don't have anything against the hard working men and women of the city of Atlanta Arborist's Division, but I feel that big city politics get in the way of allowing them to do their job. Maybe they're understaffed, maybe developers pay big money under the table, or maybe politicians put pressure on them, I don't know, but I do feel that the ordinance should be enforced. Oh and on a closer examination of the border trees on that very lot, I found the lamest excuse for a tree save area. According to the Atlanta Tree Ordinance a tree save area should be equal to 1' wide for every 1" of tree diameter at breast height in order to preserve the "critical root-zone". The fence that was constructed was not only too small to protect fibrous absorbing roots but it was to small to protect even the root plate of this specimen white oak on the neighbors property. What a joke! My prediction is that tree will fall over this spring in the first thunderstorm of the year! Michael Franklin, what is the deal with that? Is it the developers putting pressure on the arborists? Something has to change or we won't have any specimen trees left. I don't want to cause trouble by mentioning names but you City Arborists are responsible for trees in your zones. Sadly I see this way too often and this time I had to speak up. I have never blogged before but this is the only I know to get the message out there. So here it is my first blog. You can contact me at www.arboristatlanta.com