Urban Tree Canopy Assessment
The aim of the UTC assessment is to increase decision maker’s understanding of their urban forest resources, particularly as it relates to the amount of tree canopy that currently exists and the amount of tree canopy that could exist. The UTC assessment protocols have been applied to several cities, and the results of these assessments have be used to inform UTC goals, assist in targeting tree canopy efforts, and justify budget increases for urban forestry programs.
The goal of the Urban Tree Canopy (UTC) assessment is to provide decision makers with detailed metrics regarding the tree canopy that exists in the urban forest. The metrics allow them to not only understand the urban forest in its current form, but to plan feasible approaches to increasing UTC. The Urban Tree Canopy assessment was designed to answer two principal questions often posed by decision makers:
1. How much tree canopy do I have?
2. How much tree canopy could I have?
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USDA Forest Service - Northern Research Station
Urban Forest Management, Canopy, Planning
National