Education
A common use of UFORE results is to educate managers and the public on the type, value and extent of the
economic benefits of the urban forest. Many people are aware of the general importance of trees and
greenspace to a healthy environment. However, UFORE allows a scientific-based
analysis of the impact of the urban forest on the environment and the value of
these benefits to the public. Ultimately, these educational efforts can help
increase urban forest management when the impact and value of the forest becomes
known.
Publications and presentations useful to such education are available on the
web.
Promotion
UFORE results can further be used to demonstrate the value of the urban forest to
the public to increase support and promote urban forest management and preservation.
UFORE allows analysis of urban vegetation in a variety of unique ways such as:
- assess the impact of
invasive trees
- demonstrate the value of urban trees
- determine dominant species from a
biomass
perspective
- evaluate tree size-class distributions in an area
Such analysis may provide the information to develop a proactive approach to vegetation management in
the city as a whole or identification of specific areas that may require protection or additional
management considerations. Analyses also reveal the value of the urban forest resource.
UFORE results can be used to help attain more funding for urban forest management.
Based on UFORE results, for instance, the New Jersey Forest Service in partnership
with the New Jersey Tree Foundation was able to obtain in 2002 a
one million dollar
grant for additional tree planting over a 3-year period.
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Management
UFORE has great potential impact on urban forest management, because the results
portray scientifically tested and statistically valid projections of the benefits
and value of the urban forest. Information such as the following can greatly help
managers:
- Structure
and Composition
UFORE analysis of samples of large areas of the urban forest can depict its
structure
and composition. This analysis often shows a very different
structure
and composition that is normally seen in street or park tree inventories. In many cities,
relatively little is known about the vegetation in areas of non-managed forest or how land-use types
affect the composition of urban vegetation.
- Environmental Benefits
A variety of analyses can be projected to identify the value of different segments of the urban
forest. For example, air pollution removal by tree size-class can be projected, allowing a quick and
visual assessment of the significant impact of large trees on air quality. Similar analysis can be
used for different tree species and land-use types. Interactions of various factors such as species
by land use can also be examined, which would show the impact of certain kinds of land use.
- Resource Management and Evaluation
UFORE results can be valuable as a tool to determine the potential impact of
management of the urban forest. UFORE can be used to evaluate “what
if” scenarios, such as to determine what the loss of individual trees,
species or portions of the forest would mean in terms of environmental and economic
benefits. Similarly, UFORE can be used to determine the potential of urban forest
management scenarios that increase urban tree cover.
- Direct Management Applications
UFORE has been used in various areas to aid in urban forest management and
planning. For example, in the New York City region, UFORE was used to help
assess the role of urban trees on ozone formation; in New Jersey,
UFORE was used to quantify the amount of air pollution removed by trees and obtain
funding for future tree planting; and in Syracuse, UFORE was used to help develop
an
urban forest master plan that was adopted by the City’s Common Council
Research
UFORE was originally developed as a research tool. Anyone interested in urban
forestry, especially its environmental effects, will find the data analysis
capabilities useful. The ability to query individual city forests for
structure and function information, to make comparisons among cities,
and to analyze data one has collected oneself is invaluable. The research
potential will only grow in the future as more data sets become available through
the use of this application. UFORE has and is being used in many international
applications, including analyses in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, and
Spain
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