i-Tree Inventory and Analysis Tools to Help the Parks

The Emerald Necklace Conservancy received a grant from the Department of Conservation and Recreation to begin taking inventory of the urban forest in several parks in the Emerald Necklace. This information will be used to analyze the data with i-Tree tools. i-Tree was developed by USDA Forest Service Research as a state-of-the-art, peer-reviewed computer software suite containing urban forest inventory and analysis tools. i-Tree tools help communities assess and care for their neighborhood trees and forests.

The tools provided by i-Tree will help the Conservancy measure the ecosystem benefits of the urban forest, including improvements to health, well-being, and the environment, within the Emerald Necklace park system. The information generated by i-Tree will serve as a means for decision making and education, leading to a better and more complete understanding of the benefits that trees provide to neighborhoods and the community at large.

i-Tree was designed to provide cities and towns the ability to not only better manage their trees and forests, but also to show decision makers and residents alike that the trees and forests are an important and essential part of healthy, well balanced communities. Trees provide real ecosystem services, including storm water management, carbon sequestration, and air temperature cooling. Through analyzing our tree inventory data, i-Tree will assign a dollar value to the urban forests of the Emerald Necklace park system. Reports and information generated by i-Tree will help raise awareness about the benefits of trees and forests, not just as amenities, but as an integral and essential part of the neighborhoods we call home.

The Emerald Necklace Conservancy Youth Leadership Program will begin collecting inventory for i-Tree in the parks and will attend a multi-day training program led by a US Forest Service representative this spring. For more information on the Conservancy and our work with i-Tree, please visit: http://encgreenteam.wordpress.com/2011/01/07/our-neighbor-the-sycamore.