using new tools to analyze and plan your urban forest
TRANSCRIPT
Using New Tools to Analyze and Plan Your Urban Forest
November 1, 2016
OpenTreeMap Team
Deborah Boyer - [email protected]
Joe Morrison - [email protected]
Hadley Stein - [email protected]
Background• Azavea is a civic technology firm that
uses geospatial data to build software and data analytics including OpenTreeMap
• We’re a B Corporation and committed to open source software
• OpenTreeMap partially funded through Small Business Innovation and Research Grants from the USDA
• Tree maps used by municipalities, non-profit organizations, and consulting arborists worldwide
Forest modeling
Community engagement
Green infrastructure mapping
Customization
Inventory mapping and management
Forest ModelingPrioritization
• Identifying optimal planting locations based on existing data that reflects your organizational priorities
Forest ModelingScenarios
• Projecting potential tree benefits and overall growth and mortality
Phase 1 - Prioritization• Focused on
Philadelphia region
• Used data selected based on New York City study*
* Locke, D.H., M.Grove, J.W.T. Lu, A. Troy, J.P.M. O’Neil-Dunne, and B. Beck. 2010. Prioritizing preferable locations forincreasing urban tree canopy in New York City. Cities and the Environment 3(1):article 4.
Phase 2 - Goals
• Expand to the continental US
• Support more customization options
• Provide templates
• Improve the map interface
• Enable sharing and editing plans
Phase 2:What data to use?
Requirements:• Available nationwide• No usage restrictions• Geographically specific• Connected to tree planting priorities
Selected:• Tree canopy – National Land Cover Database• Impervious surface – National Land Cover Database• Population density • Economic data• Housing data*
* Roman, Lara A., J. Battles, and J. McBride. 2014. Determinants of Establishment Survival for Residential Trees in Sacramento County, CA. Landscape and Urban Planning 129(2014): 22-31.
Data Wish List• Health data
• Water related data
• Temperature data
• Air pollution data
• Wildlife data
Data as Filters• Soil types
• Transit information
• Location within flood plain
• Localized public works or zoning maps
• Neighborhoods and other geographic boundaries
What data is important to your organization’s planting
priorities?
Exploring the Software
Other Prioritization Tools: i-Tree Landscape
• Includes land cover and census demographics
• Web-based with a geospatial interface
• Explore existing canopy and ecosystem benefits
• Create Priority Planting Index and view report
• More info at https://landscape.itreetools.org/
Other Prioritization Tools: i-Tree Landscape
Other Prioritization Tools:Trees and Health App
Other Prioritization Tools:Trees and Health App
• Organized by Portland State University with support from the US Forest Service and other partners
• Focuses on identifying planting locations to impact tree canopy and public health
• Provides information for 14 cities in the US
• Supports exploring target canopy percentages and number of trees to plant
• More info at http://map.treesandhealth.org/
Forest ModelingScenarios
• Projecting potential tree benefits and overall growth and mortality
Phase 1• Digitally plant trees and grow out
over 30 year period• Mortality rates from Nowak, D, et al.
2004. Tree Mortality Rates and Tree Population projections in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, vol 2, issue 3, p 139-147.
• Growth rates from Nowak, D. 1994. Chapter 6: Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Reduction by Chicago's Urban Forest. Results of the Chicago Urban Forest Climate Project. USDA Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station, General Technical Report NE-186.
Phase 2 - Goals
• Support more customization options
• Update growth rates
• Refine mortality rates
• Implement replanting option
• Enable sharing and editing plans
Additional Growth Data• More specific growth rate information courtesy of the Urban Tree
Database• Data gathered from 14,000 trees in 17 U.S. cities over 14 years• Includes 365 sets of tree growth equations for 171 species• More info and raw data available at
http://www.treesearch.fs.fed.us/pubs/52933
Revising Mortality Process• Keep a default of 5% annual mortality*
• Support customization of mortality for species and diameter and remove land use as a mortality factor
• Editing species and diameter mortality rates can impact overall mortality rate
• Does not include an option for factoring in management, construction, storm, or pests
*Roman, L. 2006. Trends in Street Tree Survival, Philadelphia, PA. ScholarlyCommons, University of Pennsylvania.
Exploring the Software
What mortality and growth information would you like to
see?
Other Scenario Tools: i-Tree Forecast
• Part of i-Tree Eco and uses the results from running an Eco model
• Includes default values and options for customizing the duration of the forecast, days without frost, mortality rates, pest outbreaks, weather, and more
• View forecast reports related to urban forest composition and structure and ecosystem benefits
• More info at https://www.itreetools.org/resources/manuals/Ecov6_ManualsGuides/Ecov6Guide_UsingForecast.pdf
Future Updates• Support customization of growth rates
• Include upload of local data
• Expand to project canopy growth
• Support bulk upload of data
• Share data back to an OpenTreeMap site
OpenTreeMap Team
Deborah Boyer - [email protected]
Joe Morrison - [email protected]
Hadley Stein - [email protected]