Official State of Rhode Island website

State of Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management

Urban Tree Inventory

If you know all about your inventory options and just want to explore the FREE UCF-supported inventory program, AUTI, or grant eligibility, or how to carry out an inventory, scroll down to the bright green box below.

tree inventory

 

Why a tree inventory is important

Tree Inventories provide information on where trees are, their species and condition, as well as where plantable sites exist, so you can plan and budget for necessary actions for a healthy and sound urban forest. This information allows a community to manage their public trees, plan and prioritize planting and maintenance, and justify budgets. A tree inventory is also the basis for any Urban Forestry Management Plan implementation.

 

To manage your urban forest, you must know what is in it, since the forest is composed of many different trees. 

  • Where are the trees located?
  • What is their condition, size, and species? 

These are questions that can be answered by conducting an inventory, allowing a community to make decisions about their community forest management in a cost-effective, equitable and accessible way.

But an inventory is only as useful as it is up-to-date. Removals and additions of trees, maintenance and inspections, tree growth and changes to site conditions, all change the look of the urban forest and its management requirements over time. So having a system that can be maintained and updated is essential.

Benefits to having an urban tree inventory

  • Liability mitigation – By tracking maintenance, complaints, site visits, tree inspections, etc., a community has a record of the management of its public trees should a legal issue arise. This can show that the municipality has not been negligent and can help reduce liability for damage or injury.
  • Budget justification – Tree budgets can often be reduced or eliminated in the face of other financial demands. Maintaining an inventory can assist with budget planning and requests, as well as show the impact of not budgeting for planting, maintenance, and removal.
  • Planning – Knowing what trees comprise your community's forest can help plan for the future: planting different species, locating trees needing replacement, finding locations for large and small trees (Right Tree, Right Place), and tracking available planting spots. 

Stay up-to-date

An inventory is only as useful as it is up-to-date. Removals and additions of trees, maintenance and inspections, tree growth and changes to site conditions, all change the look of the urban forest and its management requirements over time. So having a system that can be maintained and updated is essential.

To remain useful, inventory data must be updated with removals and planting, as well as maintenance treatments and monitoring visits. Automatic updates from the field, as work is done or observations are made, are helpful to keep an inventory functional to justify staff and budget needs, award contracts for necessary work, plan for future needs due to age, pests or diseases, and to include in planning and development. Inventories are the first step in managing your community’s trees for the long-term.

partial inventory map

TYPES OF INVENTORIES

Sometimes budget or management priorities may limit a community from collecting a full inventory of all municipal trees. Partial inventories can be carried out on selected populations of municipal trees: only street trees, only park trees, only risk trees, in specific neighborhoods or downtown areas, or boundary trees and line-of-sight for nuisance and safety, or historical/specimen trees. 

The priorities, available budget, and capacity for managing should be considered to determine the most suitable approach for your community. A partial inventory can also be a stepping stone to a full inventory.

DATA COLLECTION

There are a several ways to approach a tree inventory. Your community's resources will determine methods for collecting the inventory data, the extent of data to be collected, and future use of the inventory as a management tool. Researching the options and cost is important.

  • Paper and pencil have been the traditional and comparatively inexpensive approach.
  • Proprietary software varies in cost and long-term access to data.
  • Lower cost or even free programs: some that ostensibly free but require adaptation; some are not particularly user friendly for collecting or reporting.
  • Compare Pros and Cons of the methods and see a list of software options.

Whichever inventory method you choose, the standard information typically collected for each tree in an inventory includes: 

  • Species
  • Diameter
  • Condition
  • Maintenance needs
  • Location (address or GPS information)
  • Growing space limitations or conflicts
  • Available planting sites are also useful to collect. 

REPORTS AND MANAGEMENT PLANS

One of the benefits to having an inventory is the ability to communicate the results and recommendations. Initially, a summary report will compile the information to justify the need for management actions and a supporting budget.

  • Tree Species can show whether you are planting a variety of species or relying on a limited number, which can increase risk from species-specific pests or diseases
  • Tree Size can indicate whether you have large-maturing or small-maturing trees and how that will affect your future community forest.
  • Maintenance recommendations can highlight pruning and removal priorities and direct budget spending more effectively.

The summary report can help direct the Management Plan and is the basis for this more comprehensive plan with goals and timelines. Management Plans are discussed in more detail under Plan & Manage.

Summary Reports Examples

tree canopy map

Urban tree canopy assessments typically use aerial or satellite imagery to determine the amount of tree cover, potential tree planting locations, and other cover types. While they don’t provide tree-specific data for management, canopy assessments can help set canopy cover goals and can be repeated over time to monitor change and the results of implementing management plans and planting efforts. 

A canopy assessment may be useful to communicate and engage with the public and local leadership when advocating for a community tree inventory. It can provide visual context to local concerns like loss of tree cover, inequity in access to green space, and impacts of development or infill development. Canopy assessments can also be done periodically to compare the changes in the canopy over time to assess the impact of zoning and development  or of tree planting efforts.

Canopy Assessments are discussed in more detail under Plan & Manage.

Rhode Island Free Inventory Tool and Grant Support

urban inventory screen

FREE DATA COLLECTION TOOL FOR RI

RI offers a free inventory tool through the Urban & Community Forestry Program

AUTI – Accessible Urban Tree Inventory developed by Forest Metrix. Check out their User Resources training to see some of the program functionality. 

This is a no-cost inventory program where you own your own data and there are no subscription fees to maintain, access, or manage the data (a Cloud-hosted option is available for an additional fee). There are some costs associated with the program: 

  • Apple IOS only – requires iPad, iPad mini, or iPhone for data collection
    • If managing the inventory outside the office, iPad is recommended
    • If managing the inventory data on an office computer, iPad mini or phone is sufficient
      • Requires the purchase of FilePro (~$600) for office use to access the program and the data on a desktop

The program provides: 

  • easily exported tree data for municipal GIS use
  • user-friendly data collection interface
  • photos and comments
  • easy reporting and data searches
  • Wi-Fi field data updating
  • simple export into iTree for tree canopy information. 

The program is available through the U&CF Grant Program and is eligible for a grant to help with the associated costs of supplies and data collection costs (1:1 cost match). UCF staff can assist with training for data collection. See the inventory guide and a powerpoint slides about the program and benefits.

Inventory Data Collection Resources

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES