City of Hickory Treasured Trees

Landscape Services Department, PO Box 398, 1441 9th Ave NE, Hickory, North Carolina 28603
phone: 828-323-7500        email: TTeague@ci.hickory.nc.us

Tree Canopy Study

City Arborist Tammy Teague, along with Hickory's Landscape Services Department, recently completed a three-year tree canopy analysis of the 27 square miles within Hickory's city limits. The area was mapped using existing 2005 aerial photography, GIS technology and 2006 grant-funded City Green software.

Once the data was entered, the software calculated Hickory's tree coverage, unpaved areas covered by shrubs and grass and all impervious surface layers such as paved lots, buildings and roadways.

As of  2009, trees were calculated to cover 32 percent of Hickory, were valued at more than 1.1 million dollars and removed 508 pounds of pollution from the air annually. Rather than just preserving the current canopy, Teague and others would like to see the coverage increased to 40 percent.

The following chart and aerial photograph illustrate the 2005 city canopy or tree cover, open space and impervious surface.

2005 Tree Canopy Totals — City of Hickory, NC