species reference (3D) crown shape

[lbonc]

Hello, is it possibile to know which 3D crown geometry the software (I-tree Eco) links to each species on the DB list (the "typical" crown) ?
This in order to better evaluate the missing crown parts, enhancing the general consistency of the field work.
Thanks!

[Jason.Henning]

i-Tree Eco is not directly using crown shapes or calculating crown volumes. You should evaluate the percent missing against the typical shape for a given species. For example a Ginkgo tree often has very open crown so even though there are gaps in the crown it is typical for that species and therefore may represent a very low percent missing. For more details about how percent missing is used in the i-Tree models you can review the "Leaf area and Leaf Area Index" section of our Understanding i-Tree document. There are more details especially for evergreen species included in this reference, https://www.itreetools.org/documents/53 ... ethods.pdf.
Thanks for your question.
-Jason