ÌÞÊ/ÀiiÃ
$EVELOPING 4OOLS
)N ORDER TO MAKE THIS SYSTEM FIELD READY WE NEEDED
TO DEVELOP A MASTER SPREADSHEET THAT IDENTIFIED THE
DISTINGUISHABLE FEATURES AND TOLERANCES OF ALL THE
TREE SPECIES ON OUR PLANTING LIST 9OU CAN DOWNLOAD THIS
SPREADSHEET HERE HTTPWWWNYCGOVPARKSORGTREES
STREETTREEPLANTINGSTEPS 5NDER 3TEP 3URVEY SEE
THE HYPERLINK FOR hDATA SHEETv %ACH ROW REPRESENTS A
DIFFERENT TREE SPECIES AND EACH COLUMN REPRESENTS VARI
OUS CATEGORIES OF A TREES BIOLOGICAL QUALITIES DROUGHT
TOLERANCE FLOOD TOLERANCE SHADE TOLERANCE FORM LEAF
COLOR ETC
4HESE DATA WERE DRAWN FROM 53$! &ACT 3HEETS AND
OTHER RELEVANT SOURCES WRITTEN IN AN URBAN FORESTRY CON
TEXT %ACH COLUMN IS FILTERABLE SO A FORESTER CAN FIND A
TREE SPECIES FITTING VARIOUS SPECIFIC CRITERIA IN A MATTER
OF SECONDS 9OU WILL NOTICE THAT OUR DEPARTMENT ADDED
SOME COLUMNS CUSTOMIZED TO OUR OWN NEEDS YOU MAY
WANT TO TAILOR THIS SPREADSHEET TO YOUR OWN PROGRAMS
NEEDS
#OMBINING THE SCIENCEBASED RESEARCH COLLECTED IN THIS
SPREADSHEET WITH ADDITIONAL FIRSTHAND FIELD KNOWLEDGE
IT WAS POSSIBLE TO ASSIGN THESE TREE SPECIES TO THEIR
MOST APPROPRIATE BIOTOPES SEE COLUMNS IN FAR RIGHT
7E USED AN hXv TO SIGNIFY THE FIRST CHOICE AND AN hMv
FOR THE hMAYBESv OR SECONDARY CHOICES 4HE PROCESS
OF CHOOSING WHICH TREE SPECIES CORRESPONDED TO EACH
BIOTOPE WAS QUITE CHALLENGING AND UNDERWENT MANY
REVISIONS 4HE TREES NEEDED TO BE DISTRIBUTED BASED ON
THEIR BIOLOGICAL TOLERANCES TO MATCH THE GIVEN SITE CONDI
TIONS 4HE LISTS ALSO HAD TO BE GENEROUS ENOUGH SO THAT
FORESTERS HAD REALISTIC OPTIONS GIVEN NURSERY AVAILABILITY
0LUS SOME BIOTOPES ARE MORE COMMONLY FOUND IN THE
FIELD THAN OTHERS SO TREE SPECIES CHOICES HAD TO REFLECT
THAT DISTRIBUTION ,AST WE WANTED TO ASSIGN TREES TO BIO
TOPES WHERE THEY WOULD BE PUT TO BEST USE RELATIVE TO ALL
THEIR OTHER BIOTOPE OPTIONS CONSIDERING FACTORS OF TREE
GROWTH POTENTIAL LONGEVITY AND SITE POTENTIAL
!PPLICATION
5SING THIS METHODOLOGY WE ARE ABLE TO APPROACH A
PLANTING SITE AND CLASSIFY IT AS A CERTAIN BIOTOPE FAIRLY
EFFICIENTLY 7HEN THE FORESTER COMES ACROSS ONE OF THE
LESSCOMMON ENVIRONMENTAL CONSTRAINTS EG BEING IN
A COASTAL FLOOD ZONE THE SPREADSHEET CAN BE FILTERED
BY THIS CRITERION WHICH FURTHER REFINES THE TREE SPECIES
LIST FOR THAT BIOTOPE 3INCE IT IS COMMON FOR SURVEYING
TO TAKE PLACE MONTHS BEFORE A FORESTER KNOWS NURS
ERY AVAILABILITY THIS CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM CAN COME IN
HANDY $URING THE SITE VISIT THE FORESTER CAN ASSESS THE
THREE CRITERIA FOR DETERMINING THE BIOTOPE MAKE NOTE
OF THAT BIOTOPE NUMBER AND DOCUMENT ANY ADDITIONAL
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSTRAINTS 4HEN SPECIES CAN EASILY BE
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