How are existing trees counted. We have several old large trees on our site that are not native, and loathe the thought of cutting them down to satisfy this credit. Is the size of their canopy counted or the footprint of their trunk.
It seems that this credit should have an exception for existing large non-native trees, since leaving them in place outweighs the incremental environmental benefit of replacing them with native species that might take decades to reach a comparable size.
Tristan Roberts
RepresentativeVermont House of Representatives
LEEDuser Expert
11475 thumbs up
June 24, 2010 - 10:18 pm
Are the trees invasive or noxious species in your area? If not, they might be considered adaptive (see credit language), and they could contribute to the credit. The fact that they're not native is not enough reason to give up yet!
Geoffrey Tomlinson
Vaha Sustainable Energy61 thumbs up
June 25, 2010 - 2:28 am
I had read the language and while the trees are not considered invasive or noxious, they are not native cultivars either.
I'm a big fan of going all native, but it seems a shame to tear down large trees for the credit. I'm in SoCal and there aren't many large trees in our urban areas.
Tristan Roberts
RepresentativeVermont House of Representatives
LEEDuser Expert
11475 thumbs up
June 25, 2010 - 8:31 pm
Yes, I checked with a colleague and they noted that they have felt that the LEED definition of adapted vegetation is overly restrictive. "I’ve always thought of adapted as simply being non-invasive plants that have adjusted to the climate and need little maintenance" was her comment. I would suggest that getting a LEED point isn't worth cutting down some nice trees.
Dan Ackerstein
PrincipalAckerstein Sustainability, LLC
LEEDuser Expert
819 thumbs up
August 5, 2010 - 11:49 pm
Geoff - I'm not an expert in this particular area, but I'm fairly confident in saying that you shouldn't cut down those trees. The intent of the credit is to provide habitat and biodiversity, and replacing an established healthy tree with some native shrubbery is, in my mind, a clear step backwards. I think you can safely measure the SF of vegetation based on the ground, not the canopy, and I'm hopeful that would accurately illustrate the habitat value of your landscaping. But I think Tristan was spot on in saying a LEED point isn't worth cutting down good trees.