A new report from the Transport Canberra and City Services Directorate has provided the most accurate estimate yet of Canberra’s tree canopy coverage.
Announced by Minister for Transport and City Services, Chris Steel, the Directorate’s Report to the Legislative Assembly of the Australian Capital Territory Urban Tree Canopy Coverage used updated Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) analysis to provide a better picture of the city’s living infrastructure.
“The new LiDAR data shows differences in canopy cover across our city and which suburbs are more at risk from urban heat island effect and climate change,” Mr Steel said.
“Canberra’s total canopy cover in 2020 was estimated to be 22.5 per cent of Canberra’s urban footprint, which we can now use as the baseline to track further progress towards our canopy target of 30 per cent by 2045,” he said.
“The updated LiDAR data will inform where we plant 54,000 additional trees funded in the Budget, which is Canberra’s largest tree planting effort since self-government.”
Mr Steel said the Directorate’s planting strategy would focus on planting trees in areas of greater vulnerability, where canopy cover was lower and in areas where existing trees were ageing and dying.
The Minister said Report data indicated that older suburbs in Central Canberra and Woden Valley had well established tree canopy cover at 28.2 per cent and 30.64 per cent respectively, whereas the newer suburbs of Gungahlin (14.3 per cent) and the Molonglo Valley (8.62 per cent) had substantially less.
He said despite their higher canopy coverage, planting would still be required in some of Canberra’s older suburbs as they had a higher proportion of ageing trees, which would reach end of life in the coming years.
The 45-page Report can be accessed at this PS News link.
