Treeless Towns Leave Residents Exposed

For now, local tree experts say they're uncertain what will become of today's bare suburbs. In some places, they say, today's saplings will grow big -- causing a net increase in tree cover, if the area was once bare pasture.

But in other areas, they say, the trees won't grow. Perhaps modern construction equipment will have compacted the soil so tightly that water and air can't reach the roots. Or maybe the developer planted smaller trees -- crab apple, cherry, dogwood -- that won't grow as tall as a hickory or an elm.

"It is certainly possible" that such places will grow a standard leafy-suburb canopy, said Eric Wiseman, a professor of urban forestry at Virginia Tech. "But it is often not likely."

In the meantime, another development is under way near McGuire's home in Leesburg. One afternoon she looked out at a vast expanse of bare earth and construction equipment, with a few trees lining the edges. A sign there says "Tree Preservation Area," apparently referring to these few trees left at the edges.

"This was a farm, and there weren't a lot of trees here, but there were trees here," she said. "And there's just nothing left."

Another sign with a leaf motif announced the development's name: Oaklawn.

Staff researcher Meg Smith contributed to this report.