Mature tree canopies boost home values and that, in turn, raises tax bases for cities and towns. But when communities plant only one type of tree, say maples or elms, it makes them vulnerable to pest infestations which, in turn, can lead to huge economic losses.
As Celia Llopis-Jepsen of the Kansas News Service reports, some communities are now replacing their single-species treescapes with a variety of trees.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.