Green Infrastructure: Trees can be an important tool for retention and detention of stormwater runoff. Trees provide additional benefits, including cleaner air, reduction of heat island effects, carbon sequestration, reduced noise pollution, reduced pavement maintenance needs, and cooler cars in shaded parking lots.
Information: Tree trenches and tree boxes are bioretention practices. However, because of differences in design, construction and maintenance, we have created a separate section for trees.
image of Minimal Impact Design Standards logo
photo of trees on marquette Avenue
Tree BMPs on Marquette Avenue, Minneapolis Minnesota. Photo courtesy of the Kestrel Design Group, Inc.

Use of trees to manage stormwater runoff encompasses several practices. Tree trenches and tree boxes (collectively called tree BMPs), the most commonly implemented tree BMPs, can be incorporated anywhere in the stormwater treatment train but are most often located in upland areas of the treatment train.

Tree BMPs are one component of urban forestry. Urban forestry is a broad term that applies to all publicly and privately owned trees within an urban area, including individual trees along streets and in backyards, as well as stands of remnant forest (Nowak et al. 2001).

The focus of this set of articles is on tree Best Management Practices rather than urban forestry. For more information on urban forestry, we suggest visiting the following websites.

Acknowledgements

Tree trenches and tree boxes

The following pages address incorporation of trees into stormwater management under paved surfaces. These pages may be viewed as a single article