Cork City Council Tree Strategy

[2.19] Changes in Canopy Cover As of this strategy, Cork City Council has analysed tree canopy coverage and tree location data within the city from 2018 and 2021. Overall, the city experienced a slight canopy loss during this period, dropping from 13.8% in 2018 to 13.4% in 2021. A breakdown of the changes to canopy coverage within city subareas is shown in Figure 2. 8. The amount of tree canopy cover held steady between 2018 and 2021 in the hinterland. However, there was a loss of tree canopy across the city centre, the city suburbs and the urban towns.

Cover 2018

20%

Cover 2021

15%

10%

5%

0%

Urban Town South East City

North East City

South West City

Hinterland City Centre North West City

Figure 2.8 Tree Canopy Cover by City Area, 2018 and 2021 

An assessment of net canopy coverage loss was also carried out as part of this strategy. Net tree canopy loss occurs when new canopy growth is not enough to counterbalance the canopy losses that occur due to either the pruning or complete removal of trees. Figure 2.9 shows the estimate of growth compared to loss for the city subareas within the city.

80

Est. Loss from removal

70

Est. Loss from pruning

60

New Growth

50

40

30

20

10

0

Hinterland

Urban towns

South East Suburbs

South West Suburbs

North East Suburbs

City Centre North West Suburbs

Figure 2.9 Canopy Losses and Gains by Area, 2018-2021 

Initial data analysis indicates that the single largest category of canopy loss was the cumulative impact of removal and pruning in residential gardens. There are many reasons this might have occurred, including storm damage, tree disease, trees reaching the end of life, addressing impacts on amenity (e.g., loss of light) or liability concerns. Analysis indicates that the second largest area of canopy loss is related to road verges. The third largest area relates to removal associated with land development.

[ Baseline and Trends ]

20

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