Appendix I: Existing Conditions Report Existing Conditions Report Tr inity Bellwoods Park Existing Conditions Report Summary Analysis of the Neighbourwoods© Tree Inventory Trinity Bellwoods Park Presented to Friends of Trinity Bellwoods Park November 2009 Report presented by: The Trinity Tree Team Brian Volz Annie McKenzie Caroline Booth Mike Halferty Masters of Forest Conservation University of Toronto Trinity Tree Team, University of Toronto i Existing Conditions Report Acknowledgements Special thanks to Andy Kenny for his guidance and to the volunteers who helped Brian Volz complete the 2009 tree inventory in Trinity Bellwoods Park: Elizabeth Comber, Vanessa Eickhoff, Anna Hill, Anna Mernieks, and Victoria Taylor. Thank-you also to Martin Danyluk and Vanessa Eickhoff for their editing assistance. Trinity Tree Team, University of Toronto ii Existing Conditions Report Table of Contents 1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 1 2 Methodology ....................................................................................................... 1 3 Inventory Area ................................................................................................... 2 4 Summary Analysis of the Tree Inventory ....................................................... 3 4.1 Tree Diversity ............................................................................................ 4 4.1.1 Tree Diversity by Genus ................................................................................... 5 4.1.2 Tree Diversity by Species ................................................................................. 6 4.2 Tree Size .................................................................................................. 10 4.2.1 Distribution of Trees by Height Class ............................................................ 10 4.2.2 Distribution of Trees by Diameter Class ........................................................ 11 4.3 Tree Condition ......................................................................................... 13 4.3.1 Overall Condition of Trees ............................................................................. 15 4.3.2 Tree Condition by Diameter Size Class.......................................................... 15 4.3.3 Tree Condition by Species .............................................................................. 17 5 Potential Risk Trees ........................................................................................ 22 6 Candidate Heritage Trees ............................................................................... 27 7 References ......................................................................................................... 28 Appendix 1: All the trees with buffer set to the crown radius and color coded to condition rating Appendix II: Complete list of tree species in Trinity Bellwoods Park. ............ 30 Appendix III: Trees with less than 1% representation ...................................... 34 Appendix IV. Potential heritage trees. ................................................................. 35 Appendix V: Neighbourwoods© quick reference guide. ..................................... 36 Trinity Tree Team, University of Toronto iii Existing Conditions Report List of Figures Figure 1: Aerial view of Trinity Bellwoods Park ........................................................................... 2 Figure 2: Distribution of native vs. non-native trees ...................................................................... 4 Figure 3: Number of deciduous vs. evergreen trees ....................................................................... 5 Figure 4: Distribution of trees by genus ......................................................................................... 6 Figure 5: Distribution of species that represent more than 5% of the total number of trees .......... 7 Figure 6: Distribution of maples by species. .................................................................................. 8 Figure 7: Distribution of oaks by species ....................................................................................... 8 Figure 8: Distribution of ashes by species. ..................................................................................... 9 Figure 9: Distribution of coniferous trees by species . ................................................................... 9 Figure 10: Distribution of trees by height class. ........................................................................... 11 Figure 11. Distribution of trees by diameter class ........................................................................ 12 Figure 12: Size class distribution by species ................................................................................ 14 Figure 13: Condition of all trees ................................................................................................... 15 Figure 14: Condition of all tree species by size class ................................................................... 16 Figure 15: Condition for most common species ........................................................................... 18 Figure 16: Condition of Norway maples by size class. ................................................................ 19 Figure 17: Condition of silver maples by size class ..................................................................... 20 Figure 18: Condition of sugar maples by size class. ..................................................................... 20 Figure 19: Condition of red and green ashes by size class. .......................................................... 21 Figure 20: Condition of lindens/basswoods by size. .................................................................... 21 Figure 21: Map of potential risk trees. .......................................................................................... 24 List of Tables Table 1: DBH classes by size........................................................................................................ 11 Table 2: Neighbourwoods© condition ratings ............................................................................... 15 Table 3: Neighbourwoods© inventory categories of interest when assessing tree risk ................. 23 Table 4: Table of high, medium and low priority risk trees in TBP ............................................. 25 Trinity Tree Team, University of Toronto iv Existing Conditions Report 1 Introduction In the spring of 2009 the Friends of Trinity Bellwoods, a volunteer community group, approached University of Toronto Forestry Coordinator Andy Kenney to inquire about the creation of a tree inventory for their neighbourhood park. The enthusiastic group recognized the park and its trees as a valuable resource to the community and has initiated the first step in creating a Strategic Urban Forest Management Plan. Our company, Trinity Tree Team, composed of 4 students from the University of Toronto’s Master of Forest Conservation program, commends the Friends for choosing to hire Brian Volz to complete a tree inventory of the park. The work completed thus far includes GIS mapping of individual tree locations and an inventory and health assessment of all the trees and naturalized areas within the park. All trees have been measured in terms of diameter at breast height (DBH), crown width and height, and overall tree height. The inventory has been the first step towards cataloguing tree data and planning for the future of this important urban park. 2 Methodology Over the summer of 2009, a tree inventory was completed for the over 800 trees in Trinity Bellwoods Park. The data was collected according to Neighbourwoods© protocol, an inventory methodology designed for use by neighbourhood community members with little to no arboricultural experience. Diameter at breast height (DBH), crown width and height, and overall tree height were measured for each tree. Individual trees were scored for the presence and severity of a variety of condition attributes such as lean, rot cavity, and defoliation (see Trinity Tree Team, University of Toronto 1 Existing Conditions Report Appendix IV for the Neighbourwoods© Quick Reference Guide) and a cumulative score was used to rate the trees’ overall condition as excellent, good, fair, poor or very poor (see Table 2: Neighbourwoods© condition ratings, in section 3.3). Finally, each tree was mapped into a geographical information system (GIS), and all data were entered into a database for future reference. The inventory data collected for Trinity Bellwoods Park are the basis for the analysis contained within this report. 3 Inventory Area Figure 1: Aerial view of Trinity Bellwoods Park (compiled image) (Source: URL: www.bing.com/maps) Trinity Tree Team, University of Toronto 2 Existing Conditions Report Trinity Bellwoods Park (Figure 1) is bounded by Dundas Street on the North, Queen Street on the South, Crawford Street and Shaw Street on the West and Gore Vale Avenue on the East. The total area of the park is 15.1 hectares. 4 Summary Analysis of the Tree Inventory This report summarises the distributions, for example by genera and species, size class, native vs. non-native, deciduous vs. coniferous, and tree condition, of the existing trees in Trinity Bellwoods Park. Simplifying the extensive data contained in the inventory is vital to understanding the current composition and structure of this