One of the first steps in
managing your urban forest is to know what is in it. Where are the trees
located? What are their condition, size and species? These are questions that
can be answered by conducting an inventory, an essential tool for developing a
management plan.
Some
communities undertake an inventory for community safety and maintenance needs.
Others, for budget justification and planning for the future.
There is no single,
correct type and way of conducting an inventory; it all depends on how the
inventory will be used and who will use it. It can be a windshield survey in
which tree data are collected from a slow-moving car. This basic survey is
often used in very small communities with limited budgets or to conduct a
partial inventory.
Or, an
inventory can be a statistical sample of the entire urban forest with up to
several hundred study plots located randomly across a large metropolitan area.
TFS urban foresters can assist you in selecting the right type of
inventory.
Tools
TFS has developed a free
Trees
Count mobile app that helps users inventory trees. Also
available is the
Level
1 Tree Risk Assessment mobile app, which is designed to identify trees
with obvious defects and can be used in both pre- and post-storm
assessments.
The U.S. Forest
Service offers the freely accessible
i-Tree
suite of tools to assist in inventories and assessments. This software suite
provides urban forestry analysis and benefits assessments.
+ Urban Forest Ecosystem Studies
+ Street Tree Inventory Reports