scholarly journals Applying Spatial Analysis Techniques to Assess Tennessee Urban Forests

2008 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 184-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher A. Bridges
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Analysis ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Forest Canopy ◽  
Community Forestry ◽  
Urban Forest ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Urban Forests ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Technical Note ◽  
Analysis Techniques

Abstract Although the social, economic, and ecological benefits of urban forests have been well-documented, fewer efforts have been made to conduct landscape level assessments of urban forest canopy. This technical note describes how spatial analysis techniques were used to evaluate urban forest canopy cover in 133 municipal urban areas across Tennessee. Municipalities were compared based on participation in the Tree City USA program. Although urban forests vary greatly, results indicated that cities participating in this community forestry initiative exhibit higher levels of urban forest canopy cover. The integration of geographic information systems and remote sensing data presents new opportunities for community foresters to efficiently and effectively monitor urban ecosystems and formulate appropriate policy responses that can help to ensure forest sustainability across the urban–rural interface.

Connecting Forestry Learning Objectives to Urban Forest Types

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen Coupland ◽  
Juliana Magalhães ◽  
Verena C Griess
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Forest Canopy ◽  
Urban Forest ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Urban Forests ◽  
Learning Objectives ◽  
Educational Opportunities ◽  
Walking Distance ◽  
Forest Types ◽  
Individual Tree

Abstract Applied educational opportunities in forestry undergraduate curricula are essential for a complete postsecondary degree program. Walking distance to local urban forests present a way to teach forestry students in applied settings, while reducing the time, cost, and travel logistics. A case study at a Canadian university (University of British Columbia) was used to connect urban forest canopy cover to forestry learning objectives and walking time to the main teaching building. Individual tree canopies were identified with light detection and ranging data and aggregated to 0.05 ha grid sections. Using canopy cover and forest arrangement, the urban forest was classified into closed, open, small, sparse, or non- forest classifications. Forestry learning objectives were matched with each forest classification in conjunction with walkability to identify critical local location for forestry education. Results identified key areas suitable for teaching forestry and for linking forestry educational values with easily accessible high value locations. Study Implications: Applied educational opportunities for undergraduate forestry students are critical for ensuring hands-on, real world experiences and essential in postsecondary forestry degrees. Local urban forests present an opportunity to allow students access to these experiences regularly. Connecting forestry learning objectives with local urban forest types allowed for the identification of key, high-value learning locations. The information and methodology from this research provide insight into explicitly classifying areas for forestry educational purposes with the goal of promoting outdoor applied educational opportunities for forestry undergraduate students.

scholarly journals An Effect of Urban Forest on Urban Thermal Environment in Seoul, South Korea, Based on Landsat Imagery Analysis

Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 630
Author(s):  
Peter Sang-Hoon Lee ◽  
Jincheol Park
Keyword(s):  
South Korea ◽  
Vegetation Cover ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Urban Forest ◽  
Thermal Environment ◽  
Urban Forests ◽  
Cooling Effect ◽  
Surrounding Areas

The urban heat island effect has posed negative impacts on urban areas with increased cooling energy demand followed by an altered thermal environment. While unusually high temperature in urban areas has been often attributed to complex urban settings, the function of urban forests has been considered as an effective heat mitigation strategy. To investigate the cooling effect of urban forests and their influence range, this study examined the spatiotemporal changes in land surface temperature (LST) of urban forests and surrounding areas by using Landsat imageries. LST, the size of the urban forest, its vegetation cover, and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) were investigated for 34 urban forests and their surrounding areas at a series of buffer areas in Seoul, South Korea. The mean LST of urban forests was lower than that of the overall city, and the threshold distance from urban forests for cooling effect was estimated to be roughly up to 300 m. The group of large-sized urban forests showed significantly lower mean LST than that of small-sized urban forests. The group of urban forests with higher NDVI showed lower mean LST than that of urban forests with lower mean NDVI in a consistent manner. A negative linear relationship was found between the LST and size of urban forest (r = −0.36 to −0.58), size of vegetation cover (r = −0.39 to −0.61), and NDVI (r = −0.42 to −0.93). Temporal changes in NDVI were examined separately on a specific site, Seoul Forest, that has experienced urban forest dynamics. LST of the site decreased as NDVI improved by a land-use change from a barren racetrack to a city park. It was considered that NDVI could be a reliable factor for estimating the cooling effect of urban forest compared to the size of the urban forest and/or vegetation cover.

scholarly journals Detecting Long-Term Urban Forest Cover Change and Impacts of Natural Disasters Using High-Resolution Aerial Images and LiDAR Data

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 1820
Author(s):  
Raoul Blackman ◽  
Fei Yuan
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Forest Canopy ◽  
High Spatial Resolution ◽  
Urban Forest ◽  
Urban Canopy ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Random Point ◽  
Aerial Images ◽  
Lidar Data

Urban forests provide ecosystem services; tree canopy cover is the basic quantification of ecosystem services. Ground assessment of the urban forest is limited; with continued refinement, remote sensing can become an essential tool for analyzing the urban forest. This study addresses three research questions that are essential for urban forest management using remote sensing: (1) Can object-based image analysis (OBIA) and non-image classification methods (such as random point-based evaluation) accurately determine urban canopy coverage using high-spatial-resolution aerial images? (2) Is it possible to assess the impact of natural disturbances in addition to other factors (such as urban development) on urban canopy changes in the classification map created by OBIA? (3) How can we use Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data and technology to extract urban canopy metrics accurately and effectively? The urban forest canopy area and location within the City of St Peter, Minnesota (MN) boundary between 1938 and 2019 were defined using both OBIA and random-point-based methods with high-spatial-resolution aerial images. Impacts of natural disasters, such as the 1998 tornado and tree diseases, on the urban canopy cover area, were examined. Finally, LiDAR data was used to determine the height, density, crown area, diameter, and volume of the urban forest canopy. Both OBIA and random-point methods gave accurate results of canopy coverages. The OBIA is relatively more time-consuming and requires specialist knowledge, whereas the random-point-based method only shows the total coverage of the classes without locational information. Canopy change caused by tornado was discernible in the canopy OBIA-based classification maps while the change due to diseases was undetectable. To accurately exact urban canopy metrics besides tree locations, dense LiDAR point cloud data collected at the leaf-on season as well as algorithms or software developed specifically for urban forest analysis using LiDAR data are needed.

scholarly journals ASSESSING URBAN FOREST CANOPY COVER IN GREAT PLAIN CONSERVATION AREA (DÜZCE CITY, TURKEY) BETWEEN 1984 AND 2015

2021 ◽  
Vol XLVI-4/W5-2021 ◽  
pp. 539-544
Author(s):  
Z. Uçar ◽  
R. Eker ◽  
A. Aydin
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Forest Canopy ◽  
Urban Forest ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Tree Canopy ◽  
Urban Trees ◽  
Conservation Area ◽  
Urban Tree ◽  
Tree Canopy Cover ◽  
Urban Tree Canopy

Abstract. Urban trees and forests are essential components of the urban environment. They can provide numerous ecosystem services and goods, including but not limited to recreational opportunities and aesthetic values, removal of air pollutants, improving air and water quality, providing shade and cooling effect, reducing energy use, and storage of atmospheric CO2. However, urban trees and forests have been in danger of being lost by dense housing resulting from population growth in the cities since the 1950s, leading to increased local temperature, pollution level, and flooding risk. Thus, determining the status of urban trees and forests is necessary for comprehensive understanding and quantifying the ecosystem services and goods. Tree canopy cover is a relatively quick, easy to obtain, and cost-effective urban forestry metric broadly used to estimate ecosystem services and goods of the urban forest. This study aimed to determine urban forest canopy cover areas and monitor the changes between 1984–2015 for the Great Plain Conservation area (GPCA) that has been declared as a conservation Area (GPCA) in 2017, located on the border of Düzce City (Western Black Sea Region of Turkey). Although GPCA is a conservation area for agricultural purposes, it consists of the city center with 250,000 population and most settlement areas. A random point sampling approach, the most common sampling approach, was applied to estimate urban tree canopy cover and their changes over time from historical aerial imageries. Tree canopy cover ranged from 16.0% to 27.4% within the study period. The changes in urban canopy cover between 1984–1999 and 1999–2015 were statistically significant, while there was no statistical difference compared to the changes in tree canopy cover between 1984–2015. The result of the study suggested that an accurate estimate of urban tree canopy cover and monitoring long-term canopy cover changes are essential to determine the current situation and the trends for the future. It will help city planners and policymakers in decision-making processes for the future of urban areas.

scholarly journals Assessing Urban Forest Canopy Cover Using Airborne or Satellite Imagery

2008 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 334-340
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Walton ◽  
David Nowak ◽  
Eric Greenfield
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
New York ◽  
Forest Canopy ◽  
Urban Forest ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Classification Methods ◽  
Remote Sensing Techniques ◽  
Many Sources ◽  
Forest Managers

With the availability of many sources of imagery and various digital classification techniques, assessing urban forest canopy cover is readily accessible to most urban forest managers. Understanding the capability and limitations of various types of imagery and classification methods is essential to interpreting canopy cover values. An overview of several remote sensing techniques used to assess urban forest canopy cover is presented. A case study comparing canopy cover percentages for Syracuse, New York, U.S. interprets the multiple values developed using different methods. Most methods produce relatively similar results, but the estimate based on the National Land Cover Database is much lower.

scholarly journals Potensi Biomassa Dan Karbon Tersimpan Tegakan di Ruang Terbuka Hijau Kota Polewali, Sulawesi Barat

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 49
Author(s):  
Daud Irundu ◽  
Mir A Beddu ◽  
Najmawati Najmawati
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Urban Forest ◽  
Urban Forests ◽  
Tree Height ◽  
Strong Relationship ◽  
Coefficient Of Determination ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

Global warming is one of the major environmental issues of this century. Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are the main cause of global warming. Green open space (RTH) such as urban parks, urban forests and green lines play an important role in mitigating global warming and climate change in urban areas because it is able to reduce CO2 from the atmosphere. This study aims to determine the potential of biomass and carbon stored in the Green Open Green Space of Polewali, West Sulawesi. Data collection for stored biomass and carbon is carried out at three green space locations including; Urban forest and city park and green lane each made three plots measuring 20 m x 20 m, and three plots on the Green Line measuring 1200 m. Retrieval of data by measuring tree height and diameter, analysis to obtain the dry volume, biomass and carbon stored for each tree species contained in the Polewali green space. Biomass is obtained by the formula M = BJ x Vk x BEF, the stored carbon value is obtained from the product of biomass by 0.47. The magnitude of the relationship of volume with biomass and carbon uses a regression equation (Ŷ=a+bX). The results show there are types of Glodokan (Polyalthia longifolia), Johar (Senna siamea), Mahogany (Swetenia sp) and Trambesi (Samanea saman) which are spread in the Polewali open green space. Trambesi is a type that has dominant biomass and stored carbon of 381.95 (tons / ha) and 179.52 (ton/ha). Green lane is the type of green space that has the most stored carbon and is currently 440.94 (ton/ha) and 207.24 (ton/ha). The overall green space biomass is 571.83 (ton/ha) and stored carbon is 268.76 (ton/ha) found in urban forests, urban gardens and green belt. The relationship of volume with biomass and stored carbon shows a very strong relationship with the coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.96.  

scholarly journals Traces of urban forest in temperature and CO<sub>2</sub> signals in monsoon East Asia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keunmin Lee ◽  
Je-Woo Hong ◽  
Jeongwon Kim ◽  
Jinkyu Hong
Keyword(s):  
Co2 Emissions ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Forest ◽  
Urban Forests ◽  
Forest Canopies ◽  
Area Index ◽  
Drought Period ◽  
Vegetation Activity ◽  
Urban Heat ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Cities represent a key space for our sustainable trajectory in a changing environment, and our society is steadily embracing urban green space for its role in mitigating heatwaves and anthropogenic CO2 emissions. This study reports two-year surface fluxes of energy and CO2 measured via the eddy covariance method in an artificially constructed urban forest to examine the impact of urban forests on air temperature and net CO2 exchange. The urban forest site shows typical seasonal patterns of forest canopies with the seasonal march of the East Asian summer monsoon. Our analysis indicates that the urban forest reduces both the warming trend and urban heat island intensity compared to the adjacent high-rise urban areas and that photosynthetic carbon uptake is large despite relatively small tree density and leaf area index. During the significant drought period in the second year, gross primary production and evapotranspiration decreased, but their reduction was not as significant as those in natural forest canopies. We speculate that forest management practices, such as artificial irrigation and fertilization, enhance vegetation activity. We also stipulate that ecosystem respiration in urban forests is more pronounced than typical natural forests in a similar climate zone. This can be attributed to the substantial amount of soil organic carbon available due to intensive historical soil use and soil transplantation during forest construction, as well as relatively warmer temperatures in urban heat domes. Our observational study also indicates the need for caution in soil management for less CO2 emissions in urban areas.

scholarly journals Assessing the relative importance of human and spatial pressures on non-native plant establishment in urban forests using citizen science

NeoBiota ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 65 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Katherine Duchesneau ◽  
Lisa Derickx ◽  
Pedro M. Antunes
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Urban Forest ◽  
Urban Forests ◽  
Native Plant ◽  
Plant Introductions ◽  
Native Species Richness ◽  
Urban Activities

Since 2007, more people in the world live in urban than in rural areas. The development of urban areas has encroached into natural forest ecosystems, consequently increasing the ecological importance of parks and fragmented forest remnants. However, a major concern is that urban activities have rendered urban forests susceptible to non-native species incursions, making them central entry sites where non-native plant species can establish and spread. We have little understanding of what urban factors contribute to this process. Here we use data collected by citizen scientists to determine the differential impacts of spatial and urban factors on non-native plant introductions in urban forests. Using a model city, we mapped 18 urban forests within city limits, and identified all the native and non-native plants present at those sites. We then determined the relative contribution of spatial and socioeconomic variables on the richness and composition of native and non-native plant communities. We found that socioeconomic factors rather than spatial factors (e.g., urban forest area) were important modulators of overall or non-native species richness. Non-native species richness in urban forest fragments was primarily affected by residential layout, recent construction events, and nearby roads. This demonstrates that the proliferation of non-native species is inherent to urban activities and we propose that future studies replicate our approach in different cities to broaden our understanding of the spatial and social factors that modulate invasive species movement starting in urban areas.

scholarly journals Application of Forest Canopy Density (FCD) Model for the Hotspot Monitoring of Crown Fire in Tebo, Jambi Province

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Attorik Falensky ◽  
Anggieani Laras Sulti ◽  
Ranggas Dhuha Putra ◽  
Kuswantoro Marko
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Spatial Analysis ◽  
Forest Canopy ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Forest Area ◽  
Landsat 8 ◽  
Crown Fire ◽  
Canopy Density ◽  
Sensing Data ◽  
Forest Canopy Density

<p><em>Indonesia is one of the owners of the 9th largest forest area in the world. Forest area in Indonesia reaches 884,950 km<sup>2</sup>. Tebo Regency is a regency in Jambi Province which has a wide forest area of 628,003 Ha. However, this forest area has been reduced due to the conversion of functions of Industrial Plantation Forests (HTI), oil palm plantations, and forest clearing activities for both settlements and plantations which led to the phenomenon of forest and land fires (karhutla). This study aims to get a better knowledge of crowns of fire potential locations in forest areas using remote sensing technology. Remote sensing data used in this study is from the satellite imagery </em><em>of </em><em>Landsat 8 OLI - TIRS in 2019. Remote sensing data is used to produce a Forest Canopy Density (FCD) model that can be overlap</em><em>ped with</em><em> a hotspot location, so the crown fire potential locations will be explored in the forest area of Tebo Regency, Jambi Province. Identification of hotspot patterns in Forest Areas was analyzed using spatial analysis. The results of this study are useful for the government as the information of the hotspot area as the cause of fires in the Forest Region of Tebo Regency Jambi Province.</em></p><strong><em>Keywords</em></strong><em>: Spatial Analysis, Forest Cover Density (FCD), Hotspots, Forest Areas, Remote Sensing</em>

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