Application of iTree For Rural Forests

[Esben]

I will be looking into the i-Tree software as a part of my thesis at the University of Copenhagen. I was wondering whether i-Tree Eco has been used to aid forest management on a forest stand level. As far as I can read, the software should be able to do so, however, I am yet to find papers discussing the use of i-Tree for forests away from urban environments.

Thanks
Esben

[Jason.Henning]

Hi Esben,
Yes, i-Tree Eco can be used to assess rural forests. The tool was designed with urban forest in mind so many of the ecosystem service estimates (e.g. energy use effects, air pollution benefits, and avoided runoff) will be reduced or non-existent in rural areas. There are many long established tools available to assess and manage rural forests and I am guessing that is why i-Tree Eco is not widely adopted for that purpose. However, it is frequently used to assess natural forest areas within and around cities.
Thanks,
Jason

[WillNeds]

Hi,

Just seeking clarification on the urban/rural application of i-Tree Eco. Within the Project Configuration tab < Project Definition < Location there's an option to indicate whether the study area is Urban. Does this input change the underlying calculations for certain outputs? Of particular interest to me is whether it changes the existing carbon storage of inventoried trees, or the projected carbon sequestration of those trees over a given timeframe.

[Jason.Henning]

The "Is the study area urban?" check box does not impact the carbon storage or sequestration outputs. It does impact some of the other outputs. For example urban areas are assumed to have more impervious surfaces so the trees in urban areas will be estimated to have a greater impact on increasing avoided runoff because a greater percentage of canopy cover will be directly cover those impervious surfaces.
Thanks,
Jason

[Esben]

Hi again
Once an iTree project has been run (complete inventory), the written report gives a 'Tree cover area' in hectares. In this case no area was given for each stratum. Is the 'Tree cover area' the sum of the crown projection areas of all the trees?
Also, when running an iTree project with an area for each stratum, the written report gives a 'Tree cover %'. Is that the ratio between the sum of the crown projection areas and the user-defined project area?

[Jason.Henning]

Yes, you are correct on both points. There are limitations in this approach in that assumes that tree crowns don't over lap and the tree crowns are generally oval in shape. However, it is the best that can be done with that data that is collected in an i-Tree Eco complete inventory project. If you are really interested in canopy cover the i-Tree Canopy tool will give you much more precise estimates of landcover.
-Jason