This document discusses Azavea's OpenTreeMap software for analyzing and planning urban forests. It describes Azavea's background in civic technology and geospatial data. OpenTreeMap allows users to model forest growth and prioritize tree planting locations using various data layers. The document seeks feedback on additional data sources and customization options to improve the software's modeling and scenario-building capabilities.

1. Using New Tools to Analyze and
Plan Your Urban Forest
November 1, 2016

2. OpenTreeMap Team
Deborah Boyer - dboyer@azavea.com
Joe Morrison - jmorrison@azavea.com
Hadley Stein - hstein@azavea.com

3. Background
• Azavea is a civic technology firm
that uses geospatial data to build
software and data analytics
including OpenTreeMap
• We’re a B Corporation and
committed to open source
software
• OpenTreeMap partially funded
through Small Business Innovation
and Research Grants from the
USDA
• Tree maps used by municipalities,
non-profit organizations, and
consulting arborists worldwide

4. Forest modeling
Community engagement
Green infrastructure mapping
Customization
Inventory mapping and management

5. Forest Modeling
Prioritization
• Identifying optimal
planting locations
based on existing data
that reflects your
organizational priorities

6. Forest Modeling
Scenarios
• Projecting potential
tree benefits and
overall growth and
mortality

7. Phase 1 - Prioritization
• Focused on
Philadelphia region
• Used data selected
based on New York City
study*
* Locke, D.H., M.Grove, J.W.T. Lu, A. Troy, J.P.M. O’Neil-Dunne, and B.
Beck. 2010. Prioritizing preferable locations for
increasing urban tree canopy in New York City. Cities and the Environment
3(1):article 4.

8. Phase 2 - Goals
• Expand to the continental US
• Support more customization options
• Provide templates
• Improve the map interface
• Enable sharing and editing plans

9. Phase 2:
What data to use?
Requirements:
• Available nationwide
• No usage restrictions
• Geographically specific
• Connected to tree planting priorities
Selected:
• Tree canopy – National Land Cover Database
• Impervious surface – National Land Cover Database
• Population density
• Economic data
• Housing data*
* Roman, Lara A., J. Battles, and J. McBride. 2014. Determinants of
Establishment Survival for Residential Trees in Sacramento County, CA.
Landscape and Urban Planning 129(2014): 22-31.

10. Data Wish List
• Health data
• Water related data
• Temperature data
• Air pollution data
• Wildlife data

11. Data as Filters
• Soil types
• Transit information
• Location within flood plain
• Localized public works or zoning maps
• Neighborhoods and other geographic boundaries

12. What data is important to your
organization’s planting priorities?

13. Exploring the Software

14. Other Prioritization Tools:
i-Tree Landscape

15. • Includes land cover and census demographics
• Web-based with a geospatial interface
• Explore existing canopy and ecosystem benefits
• Create Priority Planting Index and view report
• More info at https://landscape.itreetools.org/
Other Prioritization Tools:
i-Tree Landscape

16. Other Prioritization Tools:
Trees and Health App

17. Other Prioritization Tools:
Trees and Health App
• Organized by Portland State University with support from
the US Forest Service and other partners
• Focuses on identifying planting locations to impact tree
canopy and public health
• Provides information for 14 cities in the US
• Supports exploring target canopy percentages and number
of trees to plant
• More info at http://map.treesandhealth.org/

18. Forest Modeling
Scenarios
• Projecting potential
tree benefits and
overall growth and
mortality

19. Phase 1
• Digitally plant trees and grow out
over 30 year period
• Mortality rates from Nowak, D, et
al. 2004. Tree Mortality Rates
and Tree Population projections
in Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Urban Forestry and Urban
Greening, vol 2, issue 3, p 139-
147.
• Growth rates from Nowak, D.
1994. Chapter 6: Atmospheric
Carbon Dioxide Reduction by
Chicago's Urban Forest. Results of
the Chicago Urban Forest Climate
Project. USDA Forest Service,
Northeastern Forest Experiment
Station, General Technical Report
NE-186.

20. Phase 2 - Goals
• Support more customization options
• Update growth rates
• Refine mortality rates
• Implement replanting option
• Enable sharing and editing plans

21. Additional Growth Data
• More specific growth rate information courtesy of the Urban Tree
Database
• Data gathered from 14,000 trees in 17 U.S. cities over 14 years
• Includes 365 sets of tree growth equations for 171 species
• More info and raw data available at
http://www.treesearch.fs.fed.us/pubs/52933

22. Revising Mortality Process
• Keep a default of 5% annual mortality*
• Support customization of mortality for species and diameter
and remove land use as a mortality factor
• Editing species and diameter mortality rates can impact
overall mortality rate
• Does not include an option for factoring in management,
construction, storm, or pests
*Roman, L. 2006. Trends in Street Tree Survival, Philadelphia, PA.
ScholarlyCommons, University of Pennsylvania.

23. Exploring the Software

24. What mortality and growth
information would you like to see?

25. Other Scenario Tools:
i-Tree Forecast
• Part of i-Tree Eco and uses the results from running an Eco model
• Includes default values and options for customizing the duration
of the forecast, days without frost, mortality rates, pest
outbreaks, weather, and more
• View forecast reports related to urban forest composition and
structure and ecosystem benefits
• More info at
https://www.itreetools.org/resources/manuals/Ecov6_ManualsG
uides/Ecov6Guide_UsingForecast.pdf

26. Future Updates
• Support customization of growth rates
• Include upload of local data
• Expand to project canopy growth
• Support bulk upload of data
• Share data back to an OpenTreeMap site

27. OpenTreeMap Team
Deborah Boyer - dboyer@azavea.com
Joe Morrison - jmorrison@azavea.com
Hadley Stein - hstein@azavea.com