ARIZONA URBAN TREE MAPA CASE STUDY FOR THE SOUTHWEST

Wolfgang Grunberg & Alix Rogstad, Arizona State ForestryPCF

11/05/14

UFRI Project genesis of a community-driven urban forest inventories effort.

Urban Forest Resource Inventories

Urban and Community Forestry, Arizona State Forestry DivisionMajor Funding Provided by USDA Forest Service State and Private Forestry

Urban Forest Resource Inventories

Needs AZ lacks comprehensive urban forest

inventory Impedes statewide goals and strategies

(azsf.gov/forest-strategy) AZ communities encounter barriers to urban

forest inventories Hinders management and sustainability

Grant Provided by USDA Forest Service 3-year project

UFRI: Original Project Goals

Develop statewide database of existing urban forest inventories Tell a statewide story Use for comparison among AZ cities and

towns Use for obtaining support from leadership

(financial and otherwise) Informed management

UFRI: Project Approach

1. Compile existing information2. Find project execution partners3. Develop protocols and products4. Test with pilot communities across AZ5. Refine products6. Seek and implement sustainability

measures … TBD

AZ Urban Forests Needs Assessment

2012 Survey Partners

Various communities statewide

157 completed surveys out of 483 contacted communities

32.5% response rate Purpose

Identify existing urban tree inventories

Identify gaps in services and future programmatic direction

Methodology Email and phone-based surveywww.azsf.az.gov/azutm/resources

AZ Urban Forests Needs Assessment

Key Findings Community Resources

Most have 0-5 forestry staff (69%)

Free trees are available in 26% of AZ communities

Urban Tree Inventories Only 30% of surveyed AZ communities

have inventories 40% of inventories are updated annually 30% still manually collect and manage

information on paper (no computer)

AZ Population Distribution

81% of AZ population in three counties: Maricopa 3.8 million Pima 980,000 Pinal 376,000

2010 U.S. Census; Wikipedia

AZ vs. NC vs. VT

mapfight.appspot.com

AZ 2.11 times NC area AZ 11.81 times VT area

Few large metropolitan areas

2010 Census; Arizona State Land Department

Many very small rural communities Often

unincorporated Often with

transient population (snow birds, 2nd home owners, etc.)2010 Census; ASLD

UFRI Project Partners

University of ArizonaCollege of Agriculture and Life Sciences School of Natural Resources and

the Environment Protocols and educational material Inventory data upload Web application Inventory implementation and training

Campus Arboretum Protocols and educational material Beta test community

www.arizona.edu

UFRI Community Partners

7 UFRI Pilot Communities Bisbee Lake Havasu City Mesa Oracle State Park Pinetop-Lakeside Prescott Valley UofA Campus Arboretum

Next-gen Communities Tucson Parks & Recreation Department TBD…

UFRI Project Products and Progressazsf.gov/azutm

Arizona Urban Tree Map

Arizona Urban Tree Map (AZUTM)

UFRI Project ends Fall 2015 UFRI continues as Arizona Urban Tree

Map with: Downloadable resources to kick-start

inventories Improved i-Tree Streets reporting service for

uploaded data Arizona-wide urban forest cover map based

on submitted inventories

AZUTM Inventory Instruction Guide Guide for planning,

managing, and executing volunteer-base urban forest inventories

Finalizing draft - latest improvement: Expand on volunteer

management Available by end of

2014

AZUTM Tree Identification Guides

Currently improvingdichotomous keys

Available by end of 2014

3 i-Tree Streets climate zones in AZ

AZUTM Insect and Diseases Guide Basic

introduction to tree insects and diseases

Finalized

AZUTM Tree Data Collection Form Easily customized

MS Word template (*.doc)

AZUTM required fields (green)

Community measurement fields (white)

Large font

AZUTM Required Inventory Fields

Inventory area name (encourage 100% inventories) Inventory date Unique tree record ID (community defined) Scientific name OR i-Tree/USDA PLANTS species code DBH in inches Canopy health condition Presence or absence of Insect and diseases

AZUTM Inventory Spreadsheet

Customizable Excel spreadsheet (*.xls) Build-in simple report Upload compatible with AZUTM site Automatic i-Tree species code to scientific name lookup Does not support multiple measurements of same tree

AZUTM Upload Web Application Upload required

for free AZUTM Tree Inventory Report service

Extracts, validates (scientific names, species codes), and stores required data from uploaded Excel spreadsheets

AZUTM Tree Inventory Reports

Will report Tree cover, diversity,

DBH structure, insects and diseases presence, canopy condition, etc.

Modified i-Tree Streets benefits analysis based on custom species lists for 3 STRATUM climate zones in AZ

AZUTM i-Tree Streets Species List

Currently customizing i-Tree Streets species lists with AZ botanist and arborists (134 modifications and additions). Added: Missing equivalent species to climate zones in AZ Missing species in i-Tree Streets Popular hybrids in AZ urban forests

AZUTM Maps TBD

Still under early development

Arizona-wide urban forest cover map Interactive webmap Summarize

submitted data Map remote-sensed

urban forest cover - TBD

Nowak and Greenfield (GTR NRS-63, 2010)

AZUTM Website

About Information about AZUTM site and

UFRI project Upload

Excel file upload to online repository AZUTM database stores only

required measures Resources

Download guides, manuals, data collection & spreadsheet templates, links to other resources, etc.

Community Inventories Posted inventory reports for

submitted inventories

www.azsf.gov/azutm

Lessons Learned from Implementing UFRI

Stories from the Urban Forest

Project Status - Pilot Communities

Community Planning

Inventory Report

Bisbee ✓ ✓ ✓

Lake Havasu City

✓ November January

Mesa ✓ ✓ contracted

out

Nov.

Oracle State Park

✓ ✓ January

Pinetop-Lakeside

✓ ✓ ✓

Prescott Valley ✓ ✓ January

UA Campus Arboretum

✓ ✓ in-house staff

Nov.As of October 31, 2014

Lessons Learned about Communities

Polar opposites in inventory capability between: Large metropolitan communities Small rural communities

Some are bounds ahead City of Phoenix has Urban Forester and online

inventory HOAs often hire private contractors

But majority lack resources for tree inventories and an urban forest manager Rely often on volunteers, grants, appropriate

technology solutions (small-scale, labor-intensive, locally controlled)

Community Successes

Enthusiastic pilot communities!

Volunteers that care and are committed

Most communities partnered up with Cooperative Extension and local volunteer groups

Pilot Communities Care About

Tree metrics: What and where Potential Conflicts Age structure Shading potential Water consumption Tree $ cost vs. $

benefit Drought and

changing tree composition

Standardizing tree data across departments

Urban vs. Wild forest Outreach &

Marketing: Community

involvement Tourism Tree City USA Being an early adopter

Lessons Learned about Inventories

Needed much more hands on support than anticipated with: Inventory event planning Accurate measurements

(crown spread, tree height) Confusion between

common and scientific names

Breaking down inventory process into small steps led to faster community decisions and actions

Lessons Learned about Volunteers

Experienced volunteers set in their ways Have city/town officials explain inventory objective Inventorying is not the same as monitoring trees!

Inexperienced volunteers are intimidated Make inventory a class - training followed by exercise

Snowbirds and 2nd home owners are very busy Schedule far ahead; plan for art, automobile

festivals, etc. Team size: 3 – no more no less

One note taker and two measurers (one experienced lead)

Volunteer Yes - Voluntold No

Lessons Learned about Measurements

Average 5 to 10 minutes per tree Beware decimal-feet vs. ft & in

tapes Difficulties with clinometer

readings Tree identification slowed by:

Common name confusions Nurseries not providing scientific

names Hybrids Very similar looking tree species

(e.g. ash species)

Lessons Learned about Technology

Outdated software Windows Me Excel 97

Gaps in computer skills Basic spreadsheet

familiarity ZIP compression of

files Limited broadband

access - slow upload

Large gaps in 3G & 4G coverage

Most data collection apps require constant internet access

Know of any asynchronous inventory apps?

broadbandmap.az.gov

Cell Towers & Mobile Wireless “Coverage”

Lessons Learned about i-Tree Streets

Best urban forest cost-benefit analysis tool … so far Roadblocks for many AZ communities

To difficult (or time consuming?): to use to adapt for local needs (add custom species and custom

measurement/observation fields) Lacks desired asset management functionality such

capturing and analyzing costs and trends over time Too many missing horticultural species for Southwest

U.S. “Ugly” reports not presentable enough to fiscal

managers Data collection app requires constant internet access

www.itreetools.org

Future Strategies to Explore

Get existing urban tree inventory data How to get HOAs and contractors to submit data to AZUTM? Pay HOA through a 3rd party (NGO) for inventories?

Get more communities to do inventories Find incentives and partners to kick-start new communities Seek more accessible inventory collection, storage, and

analysis software Get AZ-wide interpreted urban tree cover data

Collaborate with research community and land management agencies on urban forest specific tree cover analysis

Utilize Google Earth’s 3D interpolation of trees and shrubs?

Thank You!

ContactInfo & Link

Wolfgang Grunberg WolfgangGrunberg@azsf.gov

Alix Rogstad AlixRogstad@azsf.gov

AZUTM: azsf.gov/azutm

Urban & Community Forestry Program Arizona State Forestry