Urban stormwater is a major contributor to surface water degradation in the United States, prompting cities to invest in green infrastructure - methods that naturally capture, store, and slowly release runoff, such as urban trees.

Improving urban forests is one of the solutions to achieving several of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and making cities healthier and more livable for people.

While green stormwater infrastructure increases in popularity, we are still learning about the role of trees in these innovative practices.

The aim of this guide is to enable you to select appropriate trees for your planting scheme.

As the pace of urban development increases, urban green spaces, and urban trees in particular, come in direct conflict with bulldozers and backhoes.

U.S. urban land increased from 2.6% (57.9 million acres) in 2000 to 3.0% (68.0 million acres) in 2010. States with the greatest amount of urban growth were in the South/Southeast (TX, FL, NC, GA and SC).

The Center for Watershed Protection reviewed a total of 159 publications to evaluate the research questions defined in the scope of this project:

1. What is the effectiveness of urban tree planting on reducing runoff, nutrient and sediment?