Stormwater Goes Greener (C3-R8-27)

This project will study green infrastructure as a means to manage and mitigate stormwater runoff to improve water quality and restore hydrology. Specifically, the role and health of trees within green infrastructure will be explored, allowing scientific justification for promoting their use in green infrastructure applications.

Trees have many important functions within the urban environment including air quality improvements, wildlife habitat, and mitigation of the heat island effect; however, their contribution to green infrastructure used for stormwater management is not well understood. There is a critical need to understand the health and role of trees in these systems (specifically compared to other vegetation types) to enable urban foresters and engineers to select the most appropriate plant material to maximize functionality of natural stormwater treatment systems. The goal of this project is to demonstrate the role of trees in bioretention areas in the eastern United States and beyond, and to make recommendations regarding system design and tree species selection to maximize bioretention area functionality and tree health. Tree health and function will be quantified using a field survey of existing systems, a laboratory experiment to compare tree performance to other types of vegetation, and a field performance study of tree-specific stormwater treatment devices. Based on the results of these studies, design guidelines will be developed which explain how best to integrate trees into bioretention areas. These guidelines will be distributed through various internet media, readily available electronic fact sheets, and nationally promoted webinars.

Final Report Download

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