Tree cover along Fort Lauderdale’s New River – credit Tamanoeconomico CC 4.0. BY-SA

In a creative use of big data, a survey has found that of the 3,119 US counties, 1,836 experienced growth and expansion of tree cover, with a high concentration among prairie and Mid-West areas.

Additionally, among counties that had thinning forests, the mean tree loss was lower than the mean increase among counties that saw expanding forests; in other words, when measured by county, the US has seen net forest growth over the last 2 decades.

Tree cover in human civilization performs several functions. Woods, however small, have the effect of increasing biodiversity in the area, of retaining soil and preventing erosion and runoff into waterways, shading and reducing average air temperatures, offering the obvious recreation opportunities, and helping to calm people.

Lawn Starter published an analysis of tree cover data county by county which found that increases in tree cover weren’t limited to rural areas. For example, Lea County, New Mexico, is one of the 25 largest counties in the Lower 48 by land area, and it experienced a 1,600% increase in forest canopy—the highest registered in the analysis.

However 14 of the 25 most populated US counties also gained tree cover, including Kings County, New York, Broward County, Florida, and Wayne County, Michigan—home to Brooklyn, Fort Lauderdale, and Detroit, respectively.

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Both Palm Beach County and Miami-Dade County also gained canopy—and significant amounts of it.

The counties containing prairie urban centers like Boise, Omaha, Lincoln, and Wichita all gained forest cover. Denver, Indianapolis, Seattle, Columbus, Philadelphia, and Nashville also gained some forest cover.

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The analysis was conducted between 2000 and 2020, and found a mean increase of 8.15% across all counties that gained forest cover. That’s a major positive for living in a changing climate, since reforestation gains throughout the 20th century have insulated the southeastern region of the United States from increases in average temperatures seen in other regions, GNN reported last year.

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