i-Tree Software
jmack said:
No, I am not doing a story. I went to ta conference and one of the training modules they presented was about i-tree.
i-Tree is a state-of-the-art, peer-reviewed software suite from the USDA Forest Service that provides urban and community forestry analysis and benefits assessment tools. Developed by USDA Forest Service Research, State and Private Forestry, and other cooperators, i-Tree is in the public domain and available by request through the i-Tree website
www.itreetools.org. The Forest Service, The Davey Tree Expert Company, the Society of Municipal Arborists and the National Arbor Day Foundation have entered into a Cooperative Partnership to disseminate and provide technical support and training for the suite.
This is the initial public release of the i-Tree suite, whose components have been in development for ten years or more. Complete support of the software is available to the user through any of the means listed on the i-Tree support page (
www.itreetools.org/support/).
i-Tree was developed for communities of all sizes to strengthen their urban and community forest management efforts. It can be used by state forestry agencies, municipal foresters, non-profit tree advocates, commercial arborists, environmental consultants, planners, or any others interested in community forests and the environmental benefits they produce.
Suite Components
The i-Tree Software Suite 1.0 includes the following urban forest analysis tools:
• UFORE (Urban Forest Effects Model) is designed to use standardized field data from randomly located plots throughout a community, along with local hourly air pollution and meteorological data, to quantify urban forest structure, environmental effects, and value to communities.
• STRATUM (Street Tree Resource Analysis Tool for Urban forest Managers) utilizes a sample or complete tree inventory to describe tree management needs, and quantify the value of annual environmental and aesthetic benefits such as energy conservation, air quality improvement, CO2 reduction, stormwater control, and property value increases.
In addition to the analysis programs, the Suite currently includes the following utilities:
• MCTI (Mobile Community Tree Inventory) is a basic tree inventory application that allows communities to conduct tree inventories and manage those records. Data for new or existing inventories can be collected and entered into the program using paper tally sheets or Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs).
• SDAP (Storm Damage Assessment Protocol) provides a standardized method for a community to assess widespread storm damage in a simple, credible, and efficient manner immediately after a severe storm. It is adaptable to various community types and sizes, and provides information on the time and funds needed to mitigate storm damage.
• Integrated Tree Inventory Utilities are made available to collect field data on PDAs for STRATUM/MCTI and UFORE. SDAP provides a similar tool for recording data related to the evaluation of storm damage.
The Urban Forest Effects (UFORE) computer model was developed to help managers and researchers quantify urban forest structure and functions based on standard inputs of field, meteorological, and pollution data. The model currently calculates the following parameters based on local measurements:
• Urban forest structure (e.g., species composition, tree cover, tree density, tree health [crown dieback; tree damage], leaf area, leaf biomass, information on shrubs and ground cover types);
• Hourly urban forest volatile organic compound emissions (emissions that contribute to ozone formation);
• Hourly pollution removal by the urban forest and associated percent improvement in air quality (for ozone, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter less than or equal to 10 microns);
• Effect of trees on building energy use and carbon dioxide emissions;
• Relative ranking of species’ effects on air quality;
• Total carbon stored and net carbon sequestered annually by urban trees;
• Insect and disease potential for gypsy moth and Asian longhorned beetle;
• Pollen allergy rating for the species composition;
• Exotic species composition; and
• Tree transpiration
As UFORE programming is modular, additional modules can and are being developed.
Silentmtn3
ARR-LLC
Miami, AZ
