The Environmental Value of Landscaping

Green areas provide countless benefits to the environment, including the following:

A lack of shade trees and turf cause cities to bear the burden of “heat islands,” which are 10 degrees to 30 degrees hotter than outlying rural areas. Further, when turfgrass is removed, the amount of smog and dust in the air increases, because there are not sufficient numbers of plants to hold down the dust and trap particulate pollutants.

Without the filter of plant material, there is an increased prevalence of dust that carries disease-causing bacteria and viruses. Lack of grass also increases erosion, and erosion raises levels of pollution and damages water quality in ponds, streams, rivers and lakes.

Streets, sidewalks and paved areas reflect heat and glare during the day and retain significant amounts of heat energy during the night. As a result, cooling seldom occurs in built-up areas. When rains do come, water drains into the sewer system. Sewer water requires treatment and is dumped into the ocean and not reused. Ideally, this water should be allowed to naturally soak into the soil, replenishing soil moisture, recharging the groundwater supplies or flowing into streams, filtered by the roots of trees and turf.