It's not easy being green for our urban communities.

Trees provide green canopy for towns and cities. Green canopy leads to documented economic, environmental and human health benefits. It also makes our communities more liveable.

However, there is a crisis across the U.S. because we are losing tree canopy.

We are losing canopy because the average life of a city tree is now 10 years or less. Replacement trees are not being planted quickly enough to makeup for the loss of canopy created by mature green trees. Younger trees and smaller selections provide less canopy, resulting in a net loss of green cover. American Forests is advocating that every city set a tree canopy goal now for their community to ensure a minimum canopy is attained and maintained. While American Forests offers guidelines based on geographic and climatic conditions, they suggest every community set their own goals and work to achieve them.

So why is this green canopy crisis occurring? In our region it's because the older trees planted many years ago have lived their useful lives and are beginning to decline. Many of these are removed because they're hazardous due to internal wood rot from negligence or past poor pruning practices. These older trees are also stressed from the continuing grueling and extreme climatic conditions encountered here. Younger replacement trees also have a high failure rate here, as well as in other regions, due to poor planting practices, difficult site conditions and lack of appropriate care and maintenance.

So what can be done? We can encourage our communities to plant more trees in parks, along our streets and in our schoolyards. We can also support budgets that provide for adequate care and maintenance of both young and old trees.

The easiest action we can take as individuals is to plant at least one tree in our yard. This doesn't have to be a humongous silver maple or sycamore that will quickly outgrow its space and overwhelm us with volumes of leaves in the fall. A small or moderately-sized tree is the answer for many of us. The USDA National Arboretum has been working on developing urban trees that can withstand the rigors of the urban environment. Two selections that they have developed are "Brandywine," a red maple with brilliant red-purple fall color, and "Frontier," an elm with nice red fall color.

Brandywine is a medium-sized tree growing to a height of 25 feet and a width of 12 feet in 12 years. The mature tree has an oval shaped crown. During the spring and summer the leaves are medium green turning to red and then vivid purple red over a long time span in the fall.

The tree is male, which means it doesn't produce the "helicopter" seeds that can lead to bothersome seedlings. Hardy in USDA zones 4 to 8, Brandywine is adaptable to a range of soil conditions. The USDA considers it an excellent tree for along streets, in city parks or as a residential shade tree.

The Frontier elm is a small to intermediate size tree with an upright pyramidal form. It grows to a height of 25 feet and a width of 15 feet in 19 years. An elm tree, it is resistant to Dutch elm disease and elm leaf beetle, two pests that often deter people from planting elms.

Frontier offers a unique red-purple fall color and is hardy in USDA zones 5 to 8. It's tolerant of stressful urban conditions and is recommended for planting in smaller landscapes, along streets and parking areas and under power lines. However, USDA recommends against planting it "close to buildings in areas with high elm leaf beetle populations."

It may not be easy being green in our cities and towns, but each of us can help by planting a tree in our yards. Ensure your tree will grow and last for years by planting it correctly and giving it the care and attention it needs over the yeas. Help your community go green by supporting efforts to plant and care for trees in your parks, schoolyards and along your streets.

* Marianne C. Ophardt is a horticulturist for the Washington State University Extension Office in Benton County.