Application of iTree For Rural Forests

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Esben
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Jan 31, 2022 7:19 am

Application of iTree For Rural Forests

Post by Esben » Tue Feb 01, 2022 8:42 am

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
i-Tree Team
Posts: 337
Joined: Fri Dec 21, 2012 7:45 am

Re: Application of iTree For Rural Forests

Post by Jason.Henning » Mon Feb 07, 2022 8:58 am

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
A member of the i-Tree Team
WillNeds
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Mar 14, 2022 8:40 am

Re: Application of iTree For Rural Forests

Post by WillNeds » Mon Mar 14, 2022 10:24 am

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
i-Tree Team
Posts: 337
Joined: Fri Dec 21, 2012 7:45 am

Re: Application of iTree For Rural Forests

Post by Jason.Henning » Mon Mar 14, 2022 11:29 am

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
A member of the i-Tree Team
Esben
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Jan 31, 2022 7:19 am

Re: Application of iTree For Rural Forests

Post by Esben » Tue Mar 15, 2022 5:12 am

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
i-Tree Team
Posts: 337
Joined: Fri Dec 21, 2012 7:45 am

Re: Application of iTree For Rural Forests

Post by Jason.Henning » Wed Mar 16, 2022 8:11 am

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
A member of the i-Tree Team
Lado Basilidze
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Jan 09, 2024 2:21 am
Location: Tbilisi, Georgia

Re: Application of iTree For Rural Forests

Post by Lado Basilidze » Tue Jan 23, 2024 3:18 am

Hi Jason,

I am considering to use i-Tree Eco model in my PhD project for urban forests of Tbilisi municipality, Georgia (South Caucasus). The projects' object will be only natural urban woodlands (total area approx. 12 000 ha) within and around the city, which are divided into 8 forest districts and my interest is to assess the various ecosystem services of each district and compare their roles in climate adaptation. Is it relevant to use Eco model for this research purpose and how should I stratify the projects' object for that?

Thank you in advance,

Lado
Jason.Henning
i-Tree Team
Posts: 337
Joined: Fri Dec 21, 2012 7:45 am

Re: Application of iTree For Rural Forests

Post by Jason.Henning » Tue Jan 23, 2024 3:46 pm

Hi Lado,
Yes, i-Tree Eco could work for this purpose. You may want to take a look at one of the built in example stratified plot projects available under the File menu in Eco to make sure that the results will be useful for your work.
As far as stratification, this depends on the goals of your project. You could stratify by districts which would allow you to have all your data and by district summaries in a single project. Alternatively, if you want to stratify to minimize standard errors, you may want to make separate projects for each district and stratify by something like land use or forest/non-forest which would create less variability among plots within a stratum and more variability between strata. That type of stratification can lower sampling error without increasing the number of plots needed. It might help to consult with a statistician when designing your project to make sure you are stratifying in a way that is most useful for your project.
For natural forest settings you also may want to consider using a smaller plot size and limiting the minimum dbh of the trees you will measure. In many cases it can be very time consuming to measure small trees on these types of forests and those small trees don't provide nearly as much ecosystem service benefits as the larger ones. As always, collecting a few pilot or test plots can help you best refine your methods to match your project goals and available resources.
Thanks,
Jason
A member of the i-Tree Team
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