Assessing the role of natural environments in flood prevention

Whether at the scale of a street, a park or the green belt of the Montreal Metropolitan Community (MMC), natural infrastructure (NI) contributes greatly to the well-being, quality of life and health of the population. In 2018, we were mandated by the David Suzuki Foundation to conduct a study on the role that NI plays in flood prevention and other ecosystem services such as biodiversity conservation, heat island control and carbon regulation.

Carried out at the scale of the island of Montreal and the MMC, the analyses allow for a better understanding of the contribution of public urban trees and natural environments of the green screen to ecosystem services.

MAJOR CONTASTS :

• Urban public trees on the island of Montreal provide the equivalent of over $4 million per year in stormwater avoidance, carbon sequestration and storage, and pollution reduction.

• Planning for the protection of at least 17% of the MMC's territory is the minimum threshold to aim for in the short term, because although it maintains the effectiveness of certain services, it is not enough to maintain the integrity of the MMC's natural environments.

Summary of unit and monetary values for ecosystem services produced by the 413,287 public urban trees analyzed on the island of Montreal

Browse our interactive map to see which trees are most involved in flood control! In the menu on the right, pay attention to the feature "Runoff Avoidance".

Inventory data sources: City of Montreal, open data; all other data shared by cities.