Tree Canopy Studies

According to a study by Dr. Elizabeth Kramer, the Atlanta region lost an average of 50 acres of tree canopy per day between 1991 and 2005. For each acre of tree canopy lost, one acre of impervious surface was gained each day. This study, conducted in 2006 by Dr. Liz Kramer with the Natural Resources Spatial Analysis Laboratory (NARSAL), compared satellite imagery from 1991 and 2005 to document the rate of tree loss in Georgia. The data was updated in 2008 to include all counties across the state.


Tree Inventories

Tree inventories document the species, diameter, health and location of community trees. Software such as iTREE are commonly used. To be most effective, an inventory should be continually updated and linked to GIS. Inventories range in costs from a few thousand dollars to tens of thousands of dollars. An inventory can help improve your work scheduling and cyclical maintenance program, improve your ability to respond to storm damage, enhance efficiency when responding to constituents' requests and locate all trees of a single species in case of a disease outbreak.


Resources