we wish to address? What do we need to know
in order to reach our desired outcomes?
Often, the assessment of ecosystem services
comes second (or tertiary) to risk management
and forest health. Modeling the ecosystem ser-
vices and appraising trees is often out of budget or
does not help address management objectives.
The most common problem statements that I
have encountered in rural communities are:
1. How many dead trees pose a threat
to people and infrastructure?
2. Where should we prioritize risk mitigation?
3. How much should we expect to spend on
tree removal for a specific problem?
4. Why is [a specific tree species] dying
across the municipality?
Understanding our management objectives—where
hazard tree removal is often the top priority—
often can facilitate our inventory approaches.
The Skeleton Inventory
The skeleton inventory records only the base level
of data required to meet the management objec-
tives; often, this is a record of the dead trees and
their locations. If we are interested in budget fore-
casting, we can add in diameter at breast height and
the accessibility of the tree (e.g., located next to a
road without powerlines, located behind several
trees that limit bucket truck access), which allows
us to source tentative bids with a more attrac-
tive breadth of data from which contractors can
determine their approximate time and costs.
For the majority of municipalities, these parame-
ters will address the basic management concerns
and provides a low-cost option to understanding
the current structure of urban forest components
related to the problem statement. I have often
been contracted by municipalities that had previ-
ously drained their budget on a tree inventory that
included species, crown width, tree height, etc.
when their budget limited them to management
objectives solely related to dead tree removal.
Another benefit of the skeleton inventory for
municipalities with limited budgets is that it is easy
to conduct with citizen participation. Further, in
areas experiencing mass tree loss, it can follow
a systematic, reportable approach to identifying
dead trees and marking them for removal.
Frankly put, the skeleton inventory is a bare-bones
approach that many arborists and urban foresters will
see as straightforward and an obvious solution. I have
found, however, that consulting firms experienced in
large-scale municipalities encourage municipalities to
pursue more complex options, attempting to replicate
big city approaches to urban forest management. >>
urban-forestry.com 29
of trees per property.
