Benefits Toolkit

i-Tree Eco (v 6)

USDA Forest Service

i-Tree Eco (originally the Urban Forest Effects or UFORE model) uses detailed field data from complete inventories or randomly sampled plots to quantify urban forest structure, environmental effects, and value to communities. The study area can range from a single tree to a park to an entire county’s urban forest. Eco…

Topics

Energy use, Air quality, Carbon sequestration & avoidance, Other economic, Trees

i-Tree Streets (v 5.1)

USDA Forest Service

i-Tree Streets uses tree inventory data to quantify environmental and aesthetic benefits and their dollar value, including: energy conservation, air quality improvement, CO2 reduction, stormwater control, and property value increase. The study area can range from a single planting site to an entire city’s street tree…

Topics

Stormwater management, Energy use, Air quality, Carbon sequestration & avoidance, Property values, Trees

SOPARNA is a direct observation tool for assessing use of outdoor recreation settings such as wilderness areas and natural open spaces. The tool provides protocols for observers to track users’ physical activity levels, activity types, genders, and estimated age and race/ethnicity groupings during a specified time…

Topics

Recreational & social value, Health & well-being, Active living

Automated Geospatial Watershed Assessment (AGWA) Tool v 3.0

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, University of Arizona, and USDA Agricultural Research Service

The Automated Geospatial Watershed Assessment (AGWA) tool is a GIS-based multipurpose hydrologic analysis system for use by watershed, water resource, land use, and biological resource managers and scientists in performing watershed- and basin-scale studies. It uses readily available spatial data sets to parameterize…

Topics

Soil creation, preservation & restoration, Stormwater management, Water quality

This broad analysis attempts to place an economic value on the numerous benefits provided by green infrastructure (defined here as a network of decentralized stormwater management practices). The report brings together current research on green infrastructure performance and presents methods for calculating related…

Topics

Stormwater management, Water conservation, Water quality, Flood protection, Energy use, Air quality, Temperature & urban heat island, Carbon sequestration & avoidance, Recreational & social value, Educational value, Property values, Other economic, Bioretention, Green roof, Permeable paving, Rainwater harvesting, Trees

Long-Term Hydrologic Impact Analysis

Local Government Environmental Assistance Network

L-THIA estimates changes in recharge, runoff, and nonpoint source pollution resulting from past or proposed development. It estimates long-term average annual runoff for land use and soil combinations, based on community-specific long-term climate data. In the basic model, the only inputs are: location (state and…

Topics

Stormwater management, Water quality

GBRL Green Roof Energy Calculator (v 2.0)

Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, Portland State University, and University of Toronto

This calculator compares the annual energy performance of a building with a green roof to the same building with either a conventional dark roof or a highly-reflective white roof. The results are based on simulations run for new construction (ASHRAE 90.1-2004) apartment or office buildings and use typical weather data…

Topics

Stormwater management, Energy use, Operations & maintenance savings, Green roof

Recycled Content (ReCon) Tool

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

This tool estimates the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission and energy benefits associated with increasing the recycled content of materials purchased or manufactured. The tool compares baseline recycled content for common materials – including  glass, wood, metals, plastics, paper, PVC, and fiberboard – to an alternate…

Topics

Energy use, Carbon sequestration & avoidance, Reused/recycled materials

Rainwater Harvesting Calculator

State of Washington Department of Ecology

This Excel-based calculator was developed to help residents of Washington State size and test scenarios for rain water harvesting systems based on the typical climate. The calculator assumes that water is harvested entirely from roofs and that 80% of precipitation falling on roofs is captured. Inputs are the nearest…

Topics

Stormwater management, Water conservation, Rainwater harvesting

SPAW Field & Pond Hydrology Model

USDA Agricultural Research Service and Washington State University Department of Biological Systems Engineering

The SPAW (Soil-Plant-Air-Water) model simulates the daily hydrologic water budgets of agricultural landscapes with two connected modules, one for farm fields and one for impoundments such as wetland ponds, lagoons or reservoirs. The model was developed to understand and predict agricultural hydrology and its…

Topics

Stormwater management, Water body/groundwater recharge, Wetland

Help build the LPS: Find out how to submit a case study and other ways to contribute.