Urban Forest Strike Team Team Leader Training Data Collection Methods Providence Forge, VA July 14-15, 2008

Data Collection Methods ProtocolPaperElectronic SDAPPreferredDifficult Risk Assessment (time sensitive) As neededPreferred Tree Planting (no rush usually) As neededPreferred

Data Collection Methods MethodProCon Paper Intuitive Flexible Quick to set-up Quick data collection (up front) Legibility issues Data entry time (back end) Reporting concerns Electronic One-time data entry Output easily read Files easily stored/recovered Requires training to use Rigid structure Time needed to set-up

Paper Data Collection Forms ProtocolPaper FormatNotes SDAPEstablished Based on FEMA criteria Risk Assessment Highly variable Based on community needs Tree PlantingHighly variable Based on community needs

Risk Assessment Requirements –Species (genus) –DBH –Physical address –Remove/prune –Justification –Immediate action –Not storm related –Notes Variables –“from street”/”to street” –Location on property –Public/private –Inspect further –Corrective prune –Cable/brace –Others

Tree Planting Site Requirements –Physical address –Tree lawn size –Utilities present –Tree type –Notes Variables –Location on property –Public/private –Signage present –Other

SDAP data entry and reporting exercise

W. Church St. A Black Bottom Rd. Main St. ROW=30 1 6/27/08 Length = 600 ft. Community Values For Williamsburg, VA Total street miles = 4 Removal cost/hr = $75 Pruning cost/hr = $75 Brush cost/cu yd = $15

Electronic Data Collection Data can be collected on: –Personal Digital Assistant (PDA’s) i-Tree software, Pendragon, mobile Excel –Data recorders / field PC’s (Allegro CX) Spreadsheet application –Data recorders fitted with GPS antennae Data dictionary, spreadsheet –GPS units (i.e. Trimble, Landmark, etc.) Data dictionary, forms, features

Data Dictionaries Trimble’s name for a way to specify what is at a spatial location Data dictionaries use attributes to describe features Feature – the thing you are locating spatially (a tree, a trail, an area) Attribute – the things that describe that feature

Data Dictionaries Features –Tree –Planting site Attributes –Species –DBH –Remove? –Tree lawn –Utilities? –Tree type Attributes describe Features

Feature Attributes ArcMap Street and Tree layers

Creating a Data Dictionary Think of your data dictionary as a paper data sheet Feature Attributes

Creating a Data Dictionary Using GPS Pathfinder Office Menu Displays drop-down box showing only specific attributes that you designate Use this if you have certain tree species you want to capture, relatively few streets that you are working, or any time you will have repeatable entries Numeric Displays only numbers on the data field Use this for tree id’s, street addresses, diameters, etc. Text Displays only text in the data field Use this for street names, species codes, notes, etc. Attribute types