Urban Forest Health
Monitoring - Pilots
Daniel B. Twardus
USDA Forest Service
Morgantown, WV
Key Players
Daniel B. Twardus, FHP – Morgantown, WV
Bill Smith, FHM Research – RTP, NC
Manfred Mielke, FHP – St. Paul, Minn.
Anne Cumming, U&CF – Morgantown, WV
Bob Rabaglia, Maryland Agric.- Annapolis, MD
Mike Galvin, Maryland DNR – Annapolis, MD
Dick Rideout, Wisconsin DNR – Madison, Wis
Ken Gooch, Massachusetts Parks & Forests, Amherst, MA
Phil Marshall, Indiana DNR – Vallonia, Ind.
Dave Nowak, NE Research – Syracuse, NY
Charlie Burnham, Massachusetts Parks&Forests, Amherst,
MA
Helen Butalla, FHP – Morgantown, WV
Phillip Rodbell, U&CF – Newtown Square, Pa
Bill Burkman, NC Research – St. Paul
What will be discussed
Forests and non-forests
Data gaps
Urban and non-urban
Inventory plots
Extending the grid
Forested inventory plots and nonforested inventory plots.
Roadside or street trees
Right of ways
Two urban pilots
urban forest health monitoring
Urban roadside tree monitoring
The urban forest monitoring pilot
Definition of forest
One acre in size
At least 120 feet wide
And at least 10% stocked with trees
Forest plots have an under story that is
undisturbed by another land use
Data Gap
A classification of “non-forest” does not mean
an area is devoid of trees
Urban areas
Agricultural lands
Riparian areas
The urban forest monitoring pilot
Define urban
Select non-forest urban FIA/FHM plots
Add urban variables to measurement suite
Collect the data
Merge data with forested FIA/FHM plots
Urban Areas
Urbanized areas have a population of
50,000 or more and a minimum density of
384 per square kilometer
Places are concentrations of people that
contain some urbanized area
Urban places have at least 2,500 people,
but are outside of urbanized areas
Provide state level data on urban forest
structure, health, functions, and benefits
Provide information on urban forest change
Detection of new pests and potential problems
Pilot projects are hoped to lead to a nationwide
monitoring program to allow for compilation of
regional and national trends
UFORE –URBAN FOREST EFFECTS
Energy conservation
Air pollution
Greenhouse gas mitigation
Pollen levels
The Urban Forest Health
Monitoring Pilots
Indiana
Wisconsin
New Jersey
Urban areas in Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Land use of non-forest plots
Residential – 32%
Right of way - 13%
Commercial - 12%
Denied access 11%
Institutional - 7%
Agriculture - 6%
Results
Wisconsin
Non-forest
Forest
Trees/acre
39
371
Basal area
13
66
Tree species
Non Forest
Box elder (13%)
Forest
Hawthorn (14%)
White ash (13%)
Quaking aspen (10%)
Green ash (5%)
Mountain maple (8%)
Red maple (5%)
Green ash (7%)
White spruce (5%)
Am.Basswood (6%)
Damage
No damage
Box elder
Wh. Ash
Gr. Ash
Red maple
81%
74%
82%
86%
Most common
damage
Conks (11%)
Vines (18%)
Dead term (1%)
Conks (1%)
Urban damage
Confined space – elm, buckeye
Poor pruning – redcedar, norway maple,
norway spruce, white
spruce
Topped tree – redcedar
Codom. lead/incl. bark – norway maple
Status
UFM is complete in Indiana – 1 panel.
UFM is complete in Wisconsin
data merging
UFORE
Rpt
UFM in NJ - underway
Urban State-wide Street Tree Monitoring
Goal: Monitor street tree populations at the
state level
300 plots established in state as baseline
Plot: 4 sub-plots (181.5 x 10’), 2 on each
side of road
No divided highways, private communities,
interstate access ramps or military
installations
Sub-sample of plots revisited annually
Street Tree Monitoring
Maryland
Wisconsin
Massachusetts
Urban areas in Maryland
Roadside or street trees
In the public Right of Way
And traditionally are the trees the
municipal or urban forester is responsible
for in terms of management and
protection.
Maryland 2001 Roadside Tree Survey
Top 24 Trees in Survey
Number of Trees
295 Plots
112 Plots with trees
894 Trees
100
80
60
40
20
0
1 E S L E
T
S
E
A U C L 1 2
A
C R A CP SA SA QU OC C RO UP PR IS WR UL FR LTR ITU SE RP P OF D YSU RU CO
Y
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L R F RO C P O N
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G
P A
P P
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UFORE CODE
Massachusetts 2002 Roadside Tree Survey
Top 24 Trees in Survey
Number of Trees
298 Plots
124 Plots with trees
935 Trees
200
150
100
50
0
I
L P2 E
L A2 M E
L
T A1 A E E1 O E A M A R S
PL U U R
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UFORE CODE
Massachusetts 2002
Damage 1
Number of Trees
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
0
2
1
11
13
20
21
Damage Code
22
25
3
4
5
Maryland 2001
Damage 1
Number of Trees
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
0
1
2
3
4
5
11 12 20 21 22 23 24 25 31
Damage Code
Maryland 2001
DBH Classes
1-5
5.1 - 10
10.1 - 15
>15
Number of Trees
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
C
Y
P
A
AC
U
R
AC
AC
PL
AC
SA
1
SA
C
A
2
UFORE CODE
U
Q
P
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PR
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Massachusetts 2002
DBH Classes
1-5
5.1 - 10
10.1 - 15
>15
Number of Trees
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
AC
PL
AC
U
R
Q
R
U
U
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PI
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2
AL
SA
U
Q
AC
AM
FR
UFORE CODE
U
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S
PI
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AC
SA
1
Status
The Roadside Tree surveys in MD and
Mass are done- now revisiting plots
Publish roadside reports for MD and Mass.
Produce new Street Tree Manuals
National Implementation Plan
The Need for This Information
FIA
FHM
CFHP
U&CF
State Foresters
City Planners & Managers
<< FHM Working Group Agenda