Environmental Benefits of Urban Trees: A Case Study of Gwagwalada Town in the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria

The study examined the importance of urban trees in Gwagwalada town in the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria. Purposive sampling technique was used to select thirty respondents for the study. Data obtained for the study were collected in the months of June and July of 2021 and descriptive statistics was used to analyze the data collected. The findings of the study showed what residents of the town value most about urban trees is the natural ventilation that they provide as indicated by nearly 67% of the respondents while about 47% of them revealed that they like urban trees because of the fruits they produce. The respondents (73%) also indicated that it is very important to them to protect mature trees from being cut down either on private or public property; 90% of the respondents indicated that they will support one-way street and creative design in order to protect mature trees. In spite of the benefits of urban trees, 53% of the respondents revealed that they will support removal of trees from public property if they constitute threats to life and property. It is recommended that rural and urban dwellers should promote trees planting and protection as they play significant roles in providing natural ventilation, fruits and also help in pollutants removal, rain water interception and erosion prevention.