Oral Abstract Details

Author(s):
Eric Kuehler

Affiliation:
USDA Forest Service

Presentation Type:
Oral

Topic Area:
Science delivery and exchange of information for natural resource professionals, policymakers, and private citizens

Abstract Text:
Desoto County, MS is the Northwestern-most county in Mississippi and borders Shelby County (Memphis), TN to its south. Traditionally an agriculturally-based county, it has experienced rapid urbanization in the past 10-15 years as it is becoming a bedroom community for Memphis. Several groups including NGO’s, municipal planners, and natural resource managers within the county and its municipalities are interested in learning how this urbanization is affecting tree canopy cover and stormwater run-off patterns. The i-Tree suite of urban and community forestry analysis and benefits assessment tools were developed by the U.S. Forest Service to help communities strengthen their urban forest management and advocacy efforts by quantifying the structure of the urban forest as well as the environmental services those trees provide to the community. The i-Tree Eco application is designed to use field data from randomly located plots at the landscape scale along with local hourly air pollution and meteorological data to quantify urban forest structure, environmental effects, and value to communities. The i-Tree Hydro tool is designed to simulate the effects of changes in tree and impervious cover characteristics within a watershed on stream flow and water quality. The Hydro application is scheduled to be released in the Spring of 2010. Urban Forestry South and Mississippi State University Extension are partnering with several local and state agencies to develop a comprehensive i-Tree Eco and Hydro project that will include a county-wide assessment as well as an assessment for each of the five municipalities in Desoto County. The project will include pre-project education workshops to inform local, state, and regional professionals of the i-Tree tools and how they can be used as well as an extensive i-Tree Eco training workshop to demonstrate all aspects of conducting an assessment project. This extensive workshop will teach students and professionals how to collect the data necessary for the Eco and Hydro models. The results from this project will give local planners and natural resource managers information regarding forest structure, canopy cover estimation, carbon storage and sequestration, biogenic volatile organic compound emissions, energy conservation and pollution removal benefits by land cover type as well as quantifying and illustrating hourly and total changes in stream flow and water quality. This presentation will discuss the science delivery techniques and materials used to help organize this county-wide effort with the local partners. The project will also help Urban Forestry South better understand the resources needed to successfully organize this type of project, and develop additional science delivery material that can help other communities conduct their own landscape-scale urbanizing assessment projects more efficiently.