Hi,
I was wondering how the benefit valuations are done in a Canadian context if a US reference area isn't selected? Should the most similar state be selected or should the selection be left blank? I am hoping to use Canopy to inform a watershed plan in Toronto.
Thanks!
Canadian Applicability
Moderators: i-Tree Support, i-Tree Team
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- i-Tree Team
- Posts: 341
- Joined: Fri Dec 21, 2012 7:45 am
Re: Canadian Applicability
Thanks for the question.
The benefit multipliers per unit area of tree canopy used in i-Tree Canopy are based wholly on on US data. The application of these multipliers in Canada is the same as for all other countries outside the US. The multipliers are based on various US data sources including a national forest inventory (capturing species composition and other variation in forest structure), local weather data (capturing rainfall and events impacting pollution deposition), local pollution data, local climate data (impacting growth and carbon sequestration rates) and local human population demographics (impacting the valuation of air pollution removal).
If you do not change the location when setting up a project the benefit multipliers will use nationwide averages for the US. You are likely to get more accurate estimates if you select a US state or county that is more similar to your location in climate, pollution, human population, tree species, and overall forest structure. Additionally, if you happen to have your own localized benefit multipliers you can always use those instead of those built into i-Tree Canopy.
It is important to note that the above caveats and limitations only apply to the estimated tree benefits. The canopy cover estimates will be just as accurate inside the the US as they are outside the US.
Thanks,
-Jason
The benefit multipliers per unit area of tree canopy used in i-Tree Canopy are based wholly on on US data. The application of these multipliers in Canada is the same as for all other countries outside the US. The multipliers are based on various US data sources including a national forest inventory (capturing species composition and other variation in forest structure), local weather data (capturing rainfall and events impacting pollution deposition), local pollution data, local climate data (impacting growth and carbon sequestration rates) and local human population demographics (impacting the valuation of air pollution removal).
If you do not change the location when setting up a project the benefit multipliers will use nationwide averages for the US. You are likely to get more accurate estimates if you select a US state or county that is more similar to your location in climate, pollution, human population, tree species, and overall forest structure. Additionally, if you happen to have your own localized benefit multipliers you can always use those instead of those built into i-Tree Canopy.
It is important to note that the above caveats and limitations only apply to the estimated tree benefits. The canopy cover estimates will be just as accurate inside the the US as they are outside the US.
Thanks,
-Jason
A member of the i-Tree Team
Re: Canadian Applicability
Hi Jason,
Great! Thanks for the reply.
To upload my own localized benefit multipliers, what would the document require/what would format be? Would it be a spreadsheet of modified Air Pollution / Hydrological / Carbon tables from step 3?
If you had any examples that would be helpful!
Thanks.
Great! Thanks for the reply.
To upload my own localized benefit multipliers, what would the document require/what would format be? Would it be a spreadsheet of modified Air Pollution / Hydrological / Carbon tables from step 3?
If you had any examples that would be helpful!
Thanks.
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- i-Tree Team
- Posts: 341
- Joined: Fri Dec 21, 2012 7:45 am
Re: Canadian Applicability
There is no upload. You can enter your own multipliers directly in the Air Pollution, Hydrological, and Carbon tables you mentioned from the set-up step 3. You will need to click on the row you want to edit then click on the small "Editing" button to the lower left of each of those tables to allow the entry of those numbers.
Hope that helps.
Thanks,
Jason
Hope that helps.
Thanks,
Jason
A member of the i-Tree Team
Re: Canadian Applicability
Great, thanks Jason. I was confused because there was an option to upload on the configuration screen, but I see now that you can save your configured table afterwards and upload the saved file.
One last question-- I'm hoping to compare canopy cover for 2020 and 2010. Is it possible to access past Google maps data for analysis? Is this provided or something we would have to provide?
Thanks!
One last question-- I'm hoping to compare canopy cover for 2020 and 2010. Is it possible to access past Google maps data for analysis? Is this provided or something we would have to provide?
Thanks!
-
- i-Tree Team
- Posts: 341
- Joined: Fri Dec 21, 2012 7:45 am
Re: Canadian Applicability
Yes it is possible to do a change analysis using the historical data available in Google Earth. This requires using Google Earth and i-Tree Canopy simultaneously.
Please see these videos from our video learning page which cover the process:
If you are interested in a more robust statistical analysis you can use your survey data in this basic calculator created by the US Forest Service, https://www.itreetools.org/documents/61 ... 20.05.xlsx. The calculator is very new and has limited support but it is pretty straightforward if you work methodically through the steps.
Thanks,
Jason
Please see these videos from our video learning page which cover the process:
- Canopy Change Analysis Intro part 1 - 4 min. - This video discusses how to use an existing i-Tree Canopy survey with Google Earth historical images to analyze canopy cover change over time, http://www.itreetools.org/media/watch.p ... VA3i93wS87.
- Canopy Change Analysis with Google Earth part 2 - 4 min.- This video demonstrates a change analysis survey using Canopy in conjunction with Google Earth historical images, http://www.itreetools.org/media/watch.p ... VA3i93wS87.
If you are interested in a more robust statistical analysis you can use your survey data in this basic calculator created by the US Forest Service, https://www.itreetools.org/documents/61 ... 20.05.xlsx. The calculator is very new and has limited support but it is pretty straightforward if you work methodically through the steps.
Thanks,
Jason
A member of the i-Tree Team