Wake County is losing its tree canopy

Driving the news: As people continue to flock to our county, more homes and apartments have been built to accommodate new residents, shrinking tree canopy by close to 4% between 2010 and 2020, the report found.

• Some areas, however, lost even more than that, NC Newsline reports.

Why it matters: Areas with less tree cover can become significantly hotter than other nearby parts of the city, also called the urban heat island effect.

• Tree canopy can also help mitigate soil erosion and other negative impacts of stormwater. Trees themselves absorb carbon dioxide and improve air quality, the report notes.

What's next: Researchers identified more than 400,000 places in Wake County where trees could be planted, which could add 82,000 acres of coverage.