NPCC News: FOREST SERVICE: UPDATED “I-TREE” PROGRAM PROVIDES ECOSYSTEM SERVICES DATA TO GENERAL PUBLIC
December 18, 2015
The U.S. Forest Service has updated its “i-Tree” project. I-Tree offers free online tools to help the public calculate, understand and document the value of plant communities, particularly trees and forests.
Trees provide many valuable services to people and ecosystems. The USFS program focuses on ecosystem services such as carbon storage, air pollution removal, and hydrologic benefits such as flood and storm buffering.
Trees also provide habitat for birds, pollinators and other wildlife. In addition, according to
the Guardian,
- In Toronto, researchers found that people living on tree-lined streets reported health benefits equivalent to being seven years younger or receiving a $10,000 salary rise.
- US scientists have identified a correlation between an increase in tree-canopy cover and fewer low-weight births.
The Forest Service i-Tree tools allow users to customize their analysis at scales from a single tree to an entire state. Regional data are preloaded and analyzed from various sources, so the users just need to select an area to begin understanding and valuing their forest resource.
i-Tree tools include:
- i-Tree Streets focuses on the benefits provided by a municipality’s street trees and puts a dollar value on the street trees’ annual environmental and aesthetic benefits.
- i-Tree Canopy offers a quick and easy way to produce a statistically valid estimate of land cover types (e.g., tree cover) using aerial images available in Google Maps. The latest version of Canopy also estimates values for air pollution reduction and capturing atmospheric carbon.
- i-Tree Hydro simulates the effects of changes in tree and paved cover on stream flow and water quality.
- i-Tree Landscape makes use of datasets, such as land cover and U.S. Census data, to provide local information and tree benefits. Learn more about i-Tree Landscape
- i-Tree Design links to Google Maps and allows users to see how tree selection, tree size, and placement around a building affects energy use and other benefits.
- i-Tree Vue uses satellite-based imagery to assess a community's land cover, including tree canopy, and some of the ecosystem services provided by urban forest. The effects of planting scenarios on future benefits can also be modeled.
