York University Tree Inventory

York University is a public university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is currently comprised of two major campuses - Glendon and Keele. The Keele Campus was established in 1965 in North York near Jane, Finch, and Steeles Avenue West thoroughfares. This campus was previously a farm owned by the Stong family until 1951 and still includes a historic home and barn built around 1850. Keele is the largest post-secondary campus in Canada at 457.14 acres. The tree census data provided here were extracted from a census completed by one of the first grounds managers in the Physical Resources Unit and published as an ArcGis map (http://yorku.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=88027977994641ad88b10ed0d85fb2f0). These data were researched by M. Belanger, extracted by J. Braun, and described with quality checks by C.J. Lortie and J. Braun. Physical Resources were contacted and provided permission to share publicly. The data are comprised of a total of 6951 observations dating from 1900 (when planting dates pre-dated campus management) to 2013. The majority of observations were done in 2012 and 2013. These censuses included common names, Latin binomials, latitude and longitude of each tree in degree decimals, and condition with morphometrics for each individual. Categorical location data included block on campus (associated with campus map), street, and building code (as referenced to campus key). Most importantly, each tree was provided a unique identifier linked to a metal tree tag affixed to its trunk. Several key measures for future ecological assessments included dbh, crown width, and height.