When using the treecalculator are you guys working on a way to incorporate cumulative benefits. Ie. Having three trees next to each other in your backyard vs three trees scattered around?
Thanks,
Alanna
TreeCalculator
Moderators: i-Tree Support, i-Tree Team
Tree Calculator
Hello Alanna,
I am not aware of any plans to expand the TreeCalculator application to compensate for cumulative benefits provided from trees that are in close proximity to each other.
The TreeCalculator was adapted from the STRATUM model to provide general benefit data for individual trees. However, the STRATUM model was originally designed for assessing benefits for population of street trees. Therefore, the TreeCalculator outputs will not be as robust as using the full STRATUM application.
Another possibility to consider is using UFORE to analyze a small population of trees. UFORE requires more input variables such as crown dimensions, missing crown, crown light exposure and proximity to structures. These inputs will likely be different for trees growing in close proximity to each other and may give you a more accurate idea of the benefits of a grouping of trees.
Best regards,
Al
I am not aware of any plans to expand the TreeCalculator application to compensate for cumulative benefits provided from trees that are in close proximity to each other.
The TreeCalculator was adapted from the STRATUM model to provide general benefit data for individual trees. However, the STRATUM model was originally designed for assessing benefits for population of street trees. Therefore, the TreeCalculator outputs will not be as robust as using the full STRATUM application.
Another possibility to consider is using UFORE to analyze a small population of trees. UFORE requires more input variables such as crown dimensions, missing crown, crown light exposure and proximity to structures. These inputs will likely be different for trees growing in close proximity to each other and may give you a more accurate idea of the benefits of a grouping of trees.
Best regards,
Al
A member of the i-Tree Team
Hi Alanna,
Just to be clear, are you referring to the tree calculator located at http://www.itreetools.org/treecalculator/ ? This calculator is currently in beta and is only operational for the Coastal Plains climate zone. There are plans to expand functionality to include all STRATUM climate zones, but this will not include any new calculations for the cumulative effects of multiple trees at any single site.
As Al describes above, the Tree Calculator is intended to be a very simplistic model based on average street tree performance across an entire city. As such, it is intended to be a first order approximation without accounting for the detailed geography or metrics of individual trees and their location. --Scott
Just to be clear, are you referring to the tree calculator located at http://www.itreetools.org/treecalculator/ ? This calculator is currently in beta and is only operational for the Coastal Plains climate zone. There are plans to expand functionality to include all STRATUM climate zones, but this will not include any new calculations for the cumulative effects of multiple trees at any single site.
As Al describes above, the Tree Calculator is intended to be a very simplistic model based on average street tree performance across an entire city. As such, it is intended to be a first order approximation without accounting for the detailed geography or metrics of individual trees and their location. --Scott
a member of the i-Tree Team