 Assessing Urban Ecosystems
Performing a complete inventory
The data needs of UFORE depend to a certain extent upon the nature of the output desired -- i.e., what forest functions or values are to be quantified (see the Manual for details).
Field data inputs
For complete inventories, UFORE field data is collected on trees and shrubs (optional) until every tree and shrub of interest has been measured.
UFORE requires that a basic set of measurements be made on each tree to obtain baseline results from the program. If only species and DBH are collected, then only some structure and functions can be estimated by UFORE. The addition of height and crown characteristics allows UFORE to make projections of carbon storage and sequestration and air pollution removal. Because the collection of field data is one of the most time-consuming and costly parts of the UFORE analysis process, careful selection of field data attributes is recommended (see the Manual for details).
Weather and pollutant concentration inputs
In addition to field data inputs, and depending on outputs desired, location specific weather and air pollution inputs are required. These data are available for the United States for the year 2000 at no cost from the USDA Forest Service office in Syracuse, NY (support).
Weather data
Hourly weather data are necessary to analyze:
Air pollution data
Hourly pollution concentration data are required to analyze:
- air pollution removal by the urban forest
- relative ranking of species effects on air quality
Twice daily sounding measurements are needed to calculate percent air quality improvement due to pollution removal. Available from the Forest Service office in Syracuse for some areas or from NOAA, see the Manual.
Select from the options below:
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