as community forests, there is also lacking alignment
of the definition of "community forest." For example,
some conceptions of community forests include areas
for logging and non-timber forest product harvesting,
yet many of these areas are located near, but not within,
communities. Finding themselves on the periphery of
both the terms "urban forest" and "community forest,"
rural communities may face difficulty in finding grants.
In the absence of funding, and without dedicated staff
to help in identifying or applying for federal funding for
tree planting, many rural communities must first work
with consultants to help them conduct a tree inventory
and quantification of ecosystem services before the
consultant can help them draft their funding proposals.
Not all rural communities can afford to hire a consultant
for that full range of work, which is why freely available
public programs like i-Tree Canopy remain a funda-
mental method for measuring current canopy cover and
ecosystem services, despite the presence of more tech-
nologically advanced methods like LiDAR. (In addition
to the cost of options like LiDAR, they require spe-
cific training.) As an example, the Canadian TREE Fund
has trained high school students to undertake i-Tree
Canopy projects affordably in their own communities.
This will be the general focus of the remainder of this
series: bringing power and information to rural com-
munities to help them manage their urban forests
internally. The next installment of this series will cover
methods for inventorying and assessing the first part
of the planning cycle: evaluating existing assets.
References
Helms, J. A. (1998). The Dictionary of Forestry.
Society of American Foresters.
Konijnendijk, C. C., Ricard, R. M., Kenney, A., & Randrup,
T. B. (2006). Defining urban forestry — A compar-
ative perspective of North America and Europe.
Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 4 (3-4), 93-103.
Lilly, S. J. (2010). Arborists' Certification Study
Guide. International Society of Arboriculture.
Miller, R. W. (1996). Urban Forestry: Planning and
Managing Urban Greenspace (2nd ed.). Prentice-Hall.
A secluded camping area with tents and permanent structures near Mount Kinabalu, Borneo.
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