Urban forests in the United States conservatively provide over $18 billion in annual benefits. We know this because of the long-term investment made by the Forest Service in Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) and the i-Tree suite of modeling and analytical tools.

Recent advancements in high-resolution satellite imagery have enabled the parsing of this information across planning zones and neighborhoods in cities, to help managers assess the equity of tree canopy distribution and the many benefits that these canopies provide. In addition, efforts to identify and manage invasive pests and pathogens, and standardize the metrics for tree health assessment are underway so that data collected locally can inform state and national early detection efforts.

This research includes the study of:

• Forest ecology and management
• Ecology and management of invasive species
• Forest resource monitoring and assessment
• Restoration and management of rural and urban forests
• Tree demography and monitoring
• Urban forest valuation

Featured Work

• Urban Tree Canopy Assessments: Combining high-resolution satellite landcover and parcel data provides insight into current and potential tree canopy cover at municipal to regional scales, and repeated measurements can track precise changes over time. 
• Inventory, Monitoring, and Threat Detection: Responding to community needs for data, agency scientists have developed comprehensive resources that support local inventory, monitoring, and threat detection over time, with data analysis possible at scales needed to slow the spread of outbreaks.
• A Forest Census for Urban Areas: The nation’s Forest Inventory and Analysis program was expanded to urban areas in 2014. Now, completed 7-year data sets are beginning to inform our understanding of species, extent, health, and possibilities for urban wood utilization and community engagement.