Work out green cover percentage instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.
Green cover is usually reported two ways: total vegetated area and tree canopy specifically, because canopy delivers most of the shading and cooling benefit while lawn and shrub cover deliver relatively little. National forest policy targets of a third of land area refer to forest cover, while urban canopy targets are typically fifteen to thirty percent.
Green cover
Cover percent = (tree canopy + other vegetation) / total area x 100
Canopy cover
Canopy percent = tree canopy / total area x 100
Cover percent = (tree canopy + other vegetation) / total area x 100. Green cover is usually reported two ways: total vegetated area and tree canopy specifically, because canopy delivers most of the shading and cooling benefit while lawn and shrub cover deliver relatively little.
Because a hectare of mown grass and a hectare of mature tree canopy are not equivalent. Canopy provides shade, interception of rainfall and evaporative cooling that grass does not.
This calculator takes 4 inputs: Total area assessed, Tree canopy area, Other vegetated area, Target green cover. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic worked example — replace them with your own site or project figures.