Analyzing Tree Canopy in Buena Park with i-Tree Canopy

​i-Tree is a software suite from the U.S. Forest Service that provides urban forest analysis and benefits tools. i-Tree helps quantify the structure of trees and forests to determine the benefits that trees provide. i-Tree Canopy is  a tool within i-Tree that is used to provide a basic, but useful assessment of the tree canopy in a given area. 

The i-Tree Canoy process involves the following:

• Drawing of a project boundary onto Google Maps or loading of an ESRI polygon shapefile
• i-Tree Canopy randomly generates sample points and zooms to each one so you can choose from your pre-defined list of cover types for that spot.
• 500-1000 survey points are suggested; the more points you complete, the better your cover estimate for your study area.

Tree canopy and benefits are then estimated by i-Tree based on the results of the analysis. 

I utilized i-Tree Canopy to assess the tree canopy within the Buena Park neighborhood of Chicago, in which I live. The map below shows the boundary of Buena Park, along with a few of the sample points used in the analysis. I included only the parts of the neighborhood west of Lake Shore Drive, as these are the inhabited portions. 

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Buena Park boundary (red) used for i-Tree Canopy analysis.

Tree Canopy Percentage
i-Tree Canopy analysis showed that about 16.6% of Buena Park is covered in tree canopy, This is below the average of 21% for the entire Chicago region determined through a 2013 study, This is not too surprising, since the whole-Chicago study included dense urban areas like Buena Park but also more natural areas such as forest preserves. 16.6% canopy is therefore respectable given the urban nature of the neighborhood, and likely higher that most other areas in the city of Chicago. 

Tree Canopy Benefits
Other benefits of urban trees measured by i-Tree Canopy include carbon sequestration, ozone removal and particulate matter removal. The total benefit for each of these, measured in amount removed and dollar value, is below:

Carbon Dioxide sequestered annually in trees - 148.66 tons ($5,378.80)
Carbon Dioxide stored in trees - 3,748.16 tons ($135,632.54)
Ozone removed annually -  1,460.18 lb ($102.19)
Particulate Matter less than 2.5 microns removed annually - 70.95 lb ($211.25)

I plan to further study the tree canopy of Buena Park to determine available public and private tree planting spaces, as well as ideal location for future tree planting. My goal is to determine the best places to plant trees in the neighborhood to maximize the return on investment of tree planting funds.