The City of Angola tree canopy is estimated to cover 815 acres and account for 23% of the city’s total land cover (Table 1A). Approximately 42% of the city’s land cover consists of grass and/or low-lying vegetation, and impervious surfaces such as buildings, roads, and other types of pavement cover 32% of total land area.
The greatest concentration of canopy cover is found in pockets near the city’s borders, particularly in the southern half of city limits. Conversely, the areas along N Wayne Street (Indiana 127), the main thoroughfare running north-south through the geographic median of the city, have the greatest amount of impervious surfaces (Figure 1A). |
The priority planting analysis digs further into Angola’s land cover data in order to identify and prioritize potential areas for new tree plantings. Only grassy areas, open space, and bare soil were included in the analysis. Non-feasible planting areas, such as agricultural fields, recreational fields, major utility corridors, etc. were excluded from consideration. Once potential planting areas were identified, locations were assigned a priority ranking through an assessment of a variety of environmental features, including a given site’s proximity to hardscape and existing tree canopy, soil permeability, slope, soil erosion, floodplain proximity, and the urban heat island index.
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