Abstract

This study illustrates how cover characteristics vary within the State of Delaware by urban, suburban and other developed areas. This study can be used to improve the understanding, management and planning of the urban and community forests in the state. Landsat and the 2000 census data reveal that Delaware has 15.0% urban area (includes area typically considered suburban), 1.5% suburban places (communities outside of urban areas with population greater than 2,500), 1.1% rural places (communities outside of urban areas with population less than 2,500), and 2.3% other developed areas. Tree cover in Delaware averages 18.3%; impervious cover averages 16.8%. The 2000 census data reveal that urban/suburban area in Delaware increased to 16.5% of the state between 1990 and 2000 with most expansion occurring in agriculture (48.7%) and forest (31.7%) lands. There are an estimated 7.1 million trees in Delaware that store about 1.3 million metric tons of carbon and the trees annually remove about 44,000 metric tons of carbon and 1,430 metric tons of air pollution.

Key words: Delaware, forest, developed lands, tree cover, impervious cover.