Fall leaves create explosion of colour in Vancouver

As fall settles in Vancouver vibrant colours have taken over the city. Leaves, in hues of yellow, orange and red are falling from trees, covering the ground.

In Vancouver, there are approximately 150,000 street trees and 350,000 trees in parks, according to officials.

About 75 per centare deciduous,leaf-bearingtrees. Vancouver's most common treeis the maple, which accounts for roughly 25 per cent of the city's trees.

Cherry trees are the second most common, accounting for 20 per cent of trees.Others include the Crimean linden (4,497 trees), the common horse chestnut (2,265), European beech (1,907) and American elm (1,825).

Trees that produce the most leaves include red oaks, tulip trees, maples and ash.

Vancouver city crews start to clear leaves from streets once the tree canopy is bare. This year, it isscheduledto beginNov. 14.

An average of 5,000 tonnes of leaves are collected in Vancouver each year from 1,400 kilometres of city streets.The city uses 16 sweepers, four loaders, eightdump trucks, eighttow trucks and 12 pickup trucks to clear the leaves.

Some streets need multiple passes.

Collected leaves are taken to the Vancouver landfill in Delta, where they are turned into compost. The compost can be purchasedby residential and commercial gardeners.

Vancouver's tree canopy covers about 18 per cent of the city. That's down from nearly 23 per cent in 1998.

By 2055, the city hopes to have the canopy back up to 22 per cent through years of planting more trees.

The city says about20,000 metric tonnes of CO2 are absorbed by the city's trees every year.

Arboristsnot only select trees to plant based on how they can help the environment, but also for their splendour and variation of colour.

For some people, the city's 223 ginkgo biloba trees, sometimes called maidenhair trees, give off a bad smell. The odour comes from the nuts produced by female trees in the fall.

Every tree on a Vancouver city street has its ownID number. A database of the trees, searchable by neighbourhood and block, is available on the city's website.

When leafcollection begins, the city wants residents to obey no-stopping or parking signs on streets where crews are working.

Residents can compost leaves from their own yardsat the Vancouver South Transfer Station at 377 West Kent Ave. North and at the Vancouver Landfill at 5400 72nd Street in Delta.