Urban Forest Effects Model (UFORE) to calculate forest structure and function from sample ground data. Two part set.

Within the City of Baltimore, 195 permanent 1/10 circular plots were established based on a stratified random sample among land uses in 1999. These plots were re-measured in 2004 and 2009 and will be re-measured again in 2014. On each plot, all trees (as defined as woody vegetation with a stem diameter at 4.5 ft (dbh) greater than one-inch) are recorded. For each tree, data are recorded on species, dbh, height, crown width, condition, crown competition, percent canopy missing and distance and direction to nearby residential buildings. These data are analyzed using the i-Tree model (www.itreetools.org) to assess ecosystem services and values. However, more importantly, these plots along with a comparable set of plots established in Syracuse, NY in 1999 are the first and most spatially comprehensive set of long-term urban forest monitoring data within cities globally. These data are being used to understand how urban forest structure and associated ecosystem services are changing through time in the City of Baltimore.