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Planted Tree Re-Inventory Protocol Planted Tree Re-Inventory Protocol April 2014 Version 1.1 Developed by: Bloomington Urban Forestry Research Group at CIPEC Planted Tree Re-Inventory Protocol April 2014 Authors: Version 1.1 Jessica M. Vogt Sarah K. Mincey Burnell C. Fischer Matt Patterson Developed by: Center for the Study of Institutions, Population Bloomington and Environmental Change Urban Forestry Research Group at CIPEC Funded By: The Efroymson Family Fund Indiana Department of Natural Resources Division of Forestry Community & Urban Forestry Program City of Bloomington, Indiana Parks & Recreation Department Garden Club of America In Partnership With: Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Inc. Center for the Study of Institutions, Population & Environmental Change (CIPEC), Indiana University, Bloomington School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University, Bloomington Citation: Vogt JM, Mincey SK, Fischer BC, Patterson M (2014) Planted Tree Re-Invento- ry Protocol. Version 1.1. Bloomington, IN: Bloomington Urban Forest Research Group at the Center for the Study of Institutions, Population and Environ- mental Change, Indiana University. 96 pp. http://www.indiana.edu/~cipec/ research/bufrg_protocol.php. Table of Contents Foreword 8 I. Why do we need a Protocol for Planted Tree Re-Inventory? 9 II. Urban Forests as Social-Ecological Systems: An Organizing Framework 12 III. How to Use this Protocol 14 IV. Planted Tree Re-Inventory Protocol 23 List of Variables 24 Tree Characteristics 26 Identifying Information 28 Size 29 Canopy 34 Trunk 42 Tree Condition 44 Local Environment 47 Near Tree Environment 47 Planting Area Characteristics 50 Proximity to Other Things 58 Management Variables 62 Social/Community Variables 68 V. Suggestions for Summarizing Data 71 VI. Additional Resources & References 78 Appendix A: Sources of Variable Collection Methods 80 Appendix B: Sample Data Collection Sheet 82 Appendix C: (Online) Quick Field Reference 88 Glossary 89 About BUFRG 93 About the Authors 94 7 Foreword I. Why do we need a Protocol for The purpose of this booklet is to provide a set of procedures that Planted Tree Re-Inventory? tree-planting organizations and their volunteers can use to keep track of planted urban trees over time. After reading this booklet, Tree-planting initiatives often aim to increase the number of you should be able to measure all of the Planted Tree Re-Inven- trees in cities and urban tree canopy cover. Urban forestry and tory Protocols variables described within, record the data you tree-planting nonprofits and cities often keep records of the trees gather, and have some ideas about data analysis. Descriptions of they plant. However, few of these organizations systematically many unfamiliar terms can be found in the Glossary at the end of re-inventory these trees to track tree mortality or measure growth this booklet. rates over time. Urban trees benefit city residents by decreasing air pollution and urban heat island effects, mitigating stormwater and carbon dioxide, and increasing aesthetic and property values. Determining accurate survival rates of tree-planting initiatives can help make sure that we maximize these benefits and optimize the allocation of limited tree-planting resources. Ultimately, the ecosystem services provided by urban trees are maximized when trees survive and grow quickly to maturity (Figure 1). The greatest benefits are provided by mature trees in the urban forest. Thus, maximizing the amount of time a tree spends in this mature phase by increasing growth rates of young trees and delaying the onset of senescence (aging and subse- quent death) by monitoring condition and providing proper tree care also maximizes the benefits provided by the urban forest. The Planted Tree Re-Inventory Protocol presented here enables A Note on Figures tree-planting organizations to monitor the survival, growth and The diagrams and figures that appear in this book were all drawn by Jess Vogt condition of their trees to this end. (except where indicated otherwise). Please feel free to use these figures for your own, non-commercial purposes. We only ask that you include the follow- The Planted Tree Re-Inventory Protocol provides tree-planting ing citation for any figure you use: “Jessica M. Vogt, Planted Tree Re-Inventory organizations of all types with standardized methods to re-inven- Protocol, Bloomington Urban Forestry Research Group at CIPEC, Indiana tory their planted trees. This means organizations can not only University.” track tree success (survival and growth), but also gather informa- 8 9 Practices for Tree Inventories.3 A complete list of variables and Costs Benefits the original sources for each can be found in Appendix A: Sourc- es of Variable Collection Methods. Establish- Maturing Mature Senescent ment The Protocol is organized according to four main categories of measurable variables that influence tree success: 1. Tree characteristics (features of the tree itself), 2. Local environment (information about the biophysical environment where the tree is growing), 3. Management (evidence of management and maintenance Cost incurred Cost practices), and Benefits provided or Benefits provided 4. Community (characteristics of the neighborhood and local social norms related to trees). Time These four categories align with the Urban Forests as Social-Eco- Figure 1. Phases of a tree’s lifespan. Benefits provided and costs logical Systems organizing framework (see next section) devel- incurred change over the course of a tree’s lifetime. Benefits are oped by the Bloomington Urban Forestry Research Group (BU- maximized during the mature phase of a tree. FRG) at the Center for the Study of Institutions, Populations and Environmental Change (CIPEC), a research center at Indiana tion on the local environment that influences tree success. The University, Bloomington. Protocol is informed by research on factors related to urban tree growth and mortality, as well as existing urban forest inventory protocols and standards, including the Urban Forestry Data Stan- dards,1 the site assessment tools of the Young Street Tree Mortal- ity Study of the New York City Parks & Recreation Department,2 and the International Society of Arboriculture’s Best Management 1 The Urban Forestry Data Standards are a joint effort of the International Union of Forest Research Organizations-Urban Forestry Working Group, the International Society of Arboriculture, the Unit- ed States Forest Service, and the Urban Natural Resources Institute (UNRI). The most recent draft version of the Standards along with more information about the effort is available at the UNRI Standards website: http://www.unri.org/standards. 2 The Site Assessment Tools document of inventory methods 3 The ISA’s “Best Management Practices - Tree Inventories” guide used in the New York City Young Street Tree Mortality Study is avail- can be purchased at the ISA web store: http://www.isa-arbor.com/store/ able at the following website: http://www.nycgovparks.org/trees/ystm. product.aspx?ProductID=137. 10 11 The production of ecosystem services in urban forests (i.e., bene- II. fits of trees) is affected by the features of the trees themselves, the surrounding biophysical growing environment, the characteris- tics of the community of people around the trees, and the insti- Urban Forests as Social-Ecological Systems: tutions and management (formal and informal rules and shared An Organizing Framework strategies that structure how people and groups of people interact with one another and with the physical world) that affect how a The Urban Forests as Social-Ecological Systems (UFs as SESs) community manages trees (Figure 2). The interactions between Framework posits that the urban forest system is best understood the trees, environment, community, and management strategies in the context of four subsystems that interact to produce the influence the outcomes of the urban forest, including tree struc- outcomes of the urban forest (trees that survive and grow, eco- ture (survival, growth), functions, and benefits (ecosystem ser- system services, etc.). This perspective combines the social-eco- vices). logical system (SES) framework developed in rural common pool resource management settings (forests, fisheries, and irrigation systems) by Elinor Ostrom and colleagues (Ostrom 2009, Ostrom & Cox 2010), the Model of Urban Forest Sustainability developed in the field of urban forest management by Jim Clark and col- leagues (Clark et al. 1997), and an organizing framework used in tree growth and physiology research (Kozlowski & Pallardy 1997) (Table 1). Table 1. Thinking about urban forests as social-ecological systems can help organize all the factors that influence urban forest out- comes (tree survival, ecosystem services, etc.) Social-Ecological Model of Urban Growth Control of OUR FRAMEWORK Systems (SES) Forest Woody Plants Urban Forests as Framework Sustainability (Kozlowski & Pal- Social-Ecological (Ostrom 2009) (Clark et al. 1997) lardy 1997) Systems Resource Units Physiology Trees Vegetative Biophysical Resource System Resource Environment Environment Figure 2. Urban Forests as Social-Ecological Systems (UFs as Governance Resource Institutions & SESs) Framework. Interlinked human and natural subsystems (the Subsystems Cultural Practices Systems Management Management Tree, Biophysical Environment, Institutions and Management, and Community) interact (curved arrow) to produce urban forest out- Resource Users or Community -- Community Actors Framework comes, including surviving and growing trees, and
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