Charlotte's vital tree canopy in serious danger

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Queen City is known for its beautiful, tree-lined streets, but some computer models predict that neighborhoods like Myers Park could lose as much as 60 percent of their street trees in the coming decades.

Trees cover about 47 percent of the city. If the aging tree population continues to drop, there could be serious impacts to air and water quality in Charlotte.

[LINK: Charlotte urban forest master plan]

To put it all in perspective, the city removes about 900 trees a year, that’s compared with only 300 trees in 2011.

The heavy rain and severe weather in recent weeks hasn’t helped. The soft soil makes old trees very vulnerable and even weak winds can cause them to crash down.

New development is also wiping out trees. City leaders are looking into stricter ordinances and refine their planting strategy to determine the areas that are with the greatest need of new trees.

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