A land use study at a refinery in Texas finds that 10 percent of the land under consideration is covered by trees, 20 percent has no trees, 34 percent is roads, 7 percent is impervious buildings, and 29 percent is water. The benefits provided by trees in physical and monetary units are shown in Table 16.6. 

Table 16.6:

Determine the total monetary value provided by the trees with the current tree cover, and also if the non-tree area was covered by identical trees. Do these monetary benefits contribute directly to the refinery's financial bottom line?

Transcribed Image Text:

Table 16.6 Ecosystem services from trees on the refinery site. Abbr. Benefit description CO NO₂ 03 PM2.5 SO₂ PM10 CO₂seq CO₂stor Carbon monoxide removed annually Nitrogen dioxide removed annually Ozone removed annually Particulate matter less than 2.5 microns removed annually Sulfur dioxide removed annually Particulate matter less than 10 microns removed annually Carbon dioxide sequestered annually in trees Carbon dioxide stored in trees (note that this is not an annual rate) Quantity removed Monetary value of removal 21.04 kg 0.084 $/kg 98.24 kg 1.18 t 45.13 kg 64.69 kg 334.25 kg 273.33 t 5.71 kt 0.033 $/kg 0.033 $/t 6.25 $/kg 0.0066 $/kg 0.375 $/kg 39 $/t 39 $/t