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UFORE - The Concept USDA Homepage Forest Service Homepage
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As additional research and Windows-coding on urban forest benefits and trees is completed, new versions of UFORE for Windows will be released. Numerous improvements to UFORE for Windows are currently being developed. The current version, UFORE for Windows v. 1.0, was designed only to incorporate data on urban forest structure and carbon storage, and sequestration. This programs aids in urban forest assessments and sampling, including assessments for exotic pest infestations (e.g., Asian longhorned beetle infestations or potential damage) and urban forest effects on carbon dioxide, the dominant greenhouse gas.”

The original UFORE SAS® code has many other forest effects that are currently being added to the Windows versions for future release. If these types of information are needed prior to the release of the next UFORE for Windows version, they can be obtained by contacting the USDA Forest Service's Urban Forest Research Unit in Syracuse, NY. Development of the structural and carbon components of the model had to be recoded first, as other components of the model are based on these modules. They are being released in Version 1.0 to assist managers and help develop the overall UFORE model frame. Data collected for Version 1.0 can be used by future versions to assess many other forest functions.

Other forest functions, modules, and improvements are currently being developed and will be released over the next several years. These include:

  • Improved growth formulas for all regions of the country
  • Future population projector

    This module is currently a prototype in Excel®. After completion of the full UFORE for Windows code, it will work with field input data to project future values such as:


  • Polution removal (currently operational in SAS® version)
  • biogenic emissions (currently operational in SAS® version)

  • Potential pest effects for dozens of new insects and diseases
  • Species selector module that will select suitable trees based on user inputs of site parameters and desired forest functions
  • A GIS module that will integrate standard Landsat (30 meter) urban tree cover maps to help display urban forest functions across the landscape.

    This new GIS platform is being developed to:

    1. Determine the best locations to plant trees to improve air and/or water quality, and provide for environmental equity by determining areas that are understocked with trees relative to others parts of the city.
    2. Calculate changes in water quantity and quality based changes in urban forest cover and locations.
    3. Quantify and map changes in air temperatures, human-level ultraviolet radiation loads, and human comfort across the landscape based on urban tree and other surface characteristics


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