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Hurricane Gustav was the second most destructive hurricane of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season. In Baton Rouge, Louisiana the wind damage from Gustav was the worst of any storm in memory. Thousands of urban forest trees were uprooted and snapped in half by Gustav's fierce winds. A post hurricane analysis of the Baton Rougeu2019s urban forest ecosystem was conducted using i-Tree Eco software application and based on the Urban Forest Effects Model (UFORE). The analysis revealed that this area has about 1,036,175 trees with tree canopies that cover 44.6 % percent of the city. The analysis reveals a significant tree canopy reduction. The city has more than 45 tree species. Trees currently store about 2 million tons of carbon per year with an associated estimated value of $ 41 million per year. In addition, these trees remove about 178,354 tons of CO2 per year with an associated estimated value of $1.1 million per year. Baton Rougeu2019s trees are estimated to reduce annual residential energy costs by $8.0 million annually and reduce air pollution (ozone, particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide) by 860 tons per year with an associated estimated value of $6.86 million per year. The structural value of the trees is estimated at $ 6.2 billion. With the increase in climate variability, increased frequency and intensity of storms, and urbanization pressure, more trees need to be planted and maintained to sustain the current level of structural values and ecological services.
Provides crucial information on the preparation for natural disasters striking urban forests in large cities and small communities. Describes three chronological action phases for natural disasters: 1. preparation (planning and warning activities), 2. response (immediate activity during and after natural disasters), and 3. recovery (activities to regain or improve upon pre-disaster conditions). Identifies the steps required to develop and implement plans in local communities. Black and white photos of disaster scenes and detailed plan guides.
Ecosystems can be impacted by different drivers that can alter their functionality. Thus, to understand the magnitude of these impacts to Ecosystem Service (ES) provision, quantification of ES and the drivers is important. This study estimated the effects of urbanization and hurricanes as direct drivers of carbon storage and timber volume, as well as water yield in forest areas in the Lower Suwannee River and Pensacola Bay watersheds, in Florida, USA. A current 2003 to 2060 urbanization scenario using spatial data and modeling, analyzed the effects of urbanization on ES. Results showed statistically significant differences at 95% confidence level between 2003 and 2060 in terms of provision of the three ES analyzed. For the hurricane analysis, this study estimated the potential loss of aboveground carbon storage and timber volume in high and low forest damage risk zones. Five factors were used in a decision tree to determine potential for forest damage due to hurricanes. Results showed that in the Lower Suwannee, 31% of the total aboveground carbon and 15% of the total timber were located in the high forest damage risk (HD) zone while the Pensacola Bay, had 0.5% of the total aboveground carbon and about the 0.7% of the total timber in the HD zone. Knowledge on how different drivers impact ecosystems and their services will provide a better understanding to landowners, policy makers, about the consequences of land use change and natural disturbance on the benefits provided by forests.
On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon platform drilling the Macondo well in Mississippi Canyon Block 252 (DWH) exploded, killing 11 workers and injuring another 17. The DWH oil spill resulted in nearly 5 million barrels (approximately 200 million gallons) of crude oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico (GoM). The full impacts of the spill on the GoM and the people who live and work there are unknown but expected to be considerable, and will be expressed over years to decades. In the short term, up to 80,000 square miles of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) were closed to fishing, resulting in loss of food, jobs and recreation. The DWH oil spill immediately triggered a process under the U.S. Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA) to determine the extent and severity of the "injury" (defined as an observable or measurable adverse change in a natural resource or impairment of a natural resource service) to the public trust, known as the Natural Resources Damage Assessment (NRDA). The assessment, undertaken by the trustees (designated technical experts who act on behalf of the public and who are tasked with assessing the nature and extent of site-related contamination and impacts), requires: (1) quantifying the extent of damage; (2) developing, implementing, and monitoring restoration plans; and (3) seeking compensation for the costs of assessment and restoration from those deemed responsible for the injury. This interim report provides options for expanding the current effort to include the analysis of ecosystem services to help address the unprecedented scale of this spill in U.S. waters and the challenges it presents to those charged with undertaking the damage assessment.