Seeing the Forest Through the Trees: Assessing Urban Forest Values Using a Combination of LiDAR, Timber Species Identifier, i-Tree Eco and GPS Ground Surveys

Abstract

The goal of the study was to test the efficacy and efficiency of LiDAR-derived models based on ground survey observations, and the Forsite Timber Species Identifier (TSI) system for the assessment of urban forest stands and associated ecological services as defined by the US Forest Service i-Tree Eco application tool. Students and faculty from the British Columbia Institute of Technology conducted field surveys across eight urban forest areas from 2015 to 2018 in the City of Maple Ridge, a municipality located in the Pacific Northwest of British Columbia, Canada. Two models were created and applied at each site. The first, referred to as the local model, was created using tree samples from the local site. The second, the all-ground truth or AGT model, was created using all trees from all areas. Both models generated an attributed tree layer compatible with the input required for i-Tree Eco. Species composition and total compensatory value for the local, AGT, and field samples were used to generate i-Tree Eco ecosystem services reports for each of the eight study areas. Results were compared to assess variation between field data and the local and AGT models.