An Urban Forest Survey in Cortland NY Matthew

An Urban Forest Survey in Cortland, NY Matthew Germain, Eugene Moon, Undergraduate Students Scott W. Anderson, Assistant Professor, Geography Steven B. Broyles, Professor, Biological Sciences Bio 319: Cortland Tree Survey Fall 2004

An Urban Forest Survey in Cortland, NY Importance of Urban Forests • Trees bring the beauty of Nature back into our cities – Scenic drives, landscape design – Provide a shaded area to sit under at the park • Filtering of air pollutants – 9 -13% of particles are filtered by trees – Trees replace carbon dioxide with oxygen in the air

How Can Urban Forests be Managed? • Provide public with the information on planting trees in urban forests – Which trees can live in our environment – Planting sites that are available – Specific trees that can be planted near power lines – City codes – PLAN FOR MAINTENANCE! • The first thing a community should do to manage and plan their urban forest is…. . Conduct a tree survey

Why Does Cortland Need an Urban Survey? • No information on urban forest. • Improper planting of trees – To close to fire hydrants – Underneath power lines • Recent discussion regarding Ni. Mo pruning

Assembling the Team • Cortland tree survey – Bio 229 – Fall semester of 2004 • 14 students • 1 faculty member • 4 community volunteers • Our goals – Determine species composition – Map urban forest – Assess condition of canopy and surrounding environment

Preparing for a Successful Tree Survey • Four weeks of intensive training • Two weekends of walking city streets measuring – – Tree ID DBH Tree height GPS coordinate

Which Trees Were Targeted • City owned trees in the ROW – 24. 5 ft from centerline on city streets – 49. 5 ft on local highways • In 2004, park trees were not included in survey • Data collected entered in an excel sheet

Tree Diversity Norway Maple Sugar Maple Red Maple Honey Locust Silver Maple • 1871 trees were surveyed • 53 different species

Property Value of Most Abundant Street Trees • Basic value ($22 / basal area) • Species classification • Condition • Location • Council of Tree and Landscape Appraisers

Property Value of Most Abundant Street Trees • • • Norway Maple--$71, 301 Sugar Maple $690, 171 Red Maple--$124, 027 Honey Locust--$46, 958 Silver Maple--$273, 107

Frequency Distribution of DBH by Species Norway Maple Sugar Maple Silver Maple Honey Locust

Percent Canopy Missing Category • • • <1% 1 -10% 11 -25% 26 -50% 51 -75% 76 -99% % of Trees 55. 5% 17. 4% 10. 8% 9. 8% 4. 5% 1. 8%

Cortland City Big Trees • Summation (points) of + Trunk Circumference (inches) + Height (ft) + ¼ canopy width (ft) • National Tree Registry (www. americanforest. org)

Cortland City Big Trees • 34 Alvena – Silver Maple – 281. 9 points • 77 Port Watson – Red Oak – 273. 4 points • 72 Evergreen – Silver Maple – 273. 3 points • 59 Floral Ave. – Silver Maple – 253. 9 points

Interesting Street Trees • Horsechestnut on Chestnut St. • Weeping European beech on Church St. • Cercidiophylum on Belrose Ave. • Copper-leaved European beech on Stevenson St.

Problems and Observations • Surveyor error • Trees growing up into power lines • Roots up heaving side walk • Trees planted to close to fire hydrants

Future Directions • Complete City Survey in Fall 2005 • Identify Planting Sites • Urban Forest Effects Model (UFORE) – Air Pollution – Greenhouses Gases – Pollen – Building Energy Use