TREE INVENTORY

     

    What is it?

    • A tree inventory is a listing and description of trees and planting sites.
    • It can be sample, partial or complete, depending on its purpose. The city of Geneva, for instance, currently has an inventory of "declining trees" only.
    • It can be handwritten, typed, or computerized. Any inventory is better than none, but computerized inventories are best in the long run.

     

    What good is it?

    • Inventories permit better hazard reduction, budgeting, and work planning.

    • An inventory:
    --gives an overview of the ages, types, and condition of trees

    -- allows you to make a maintenance schedule on a solid basis

    -- makes it easy to set priorities for pruning and removal work

    -- is an excellent tool for budget planning and negotiation

    -- aids greatly in dealing with homeowners

    • Setting guidelines for new tree planting (such as number, location, and species) is also easiest from a full inventory of the existing urban forest.

     

    What is it like?

    • Every inventory includes at least address, species, size, condition, hazard potential, and necessary maintenance work.
    • A professional inventory is made by trained professionals, usually certified arborists, using a dedicated computer program such as TreeManager® or TreeKeeper, Jr®. Its information is usually highly detailed and very accurate.
    • An amateur inventory can be made by trained non-professionals using a general spreadsheet such as Lotus123® or Excel®. The information is usually less detailed and less accurate, and hazardous trees must still be examined by a certified arborist.
    • All inventories need to be updated periodically through ground inspection.

     

    How much does it cost?

    • Cost depends upon who does the inventory, and how many trees there are.
    • The cost of a professional inventory depends upon the number and condition of trees; a ballpark figure is $1-2 per tree for larger forests, more for smaller ones.
    • The cost of an amateur inventory lies principally in the collection of ground inspection data, since data entry can often be carried out by existing staff.

     

    Where can I get more information?

    • "How to Conduct a Street Tree Inventory" (National Arbor Day Foundation), available from the Community Forestry Education Project (716-461-1000), as well as a list of programs and professionals, and further information.