MapJack

Urban trees provide a wide range of environmental, ecological, social, cultural and economic benefits. However, as natural objects, they are constantly under stress, and living in an unnatural habitat, which will primarily affect the tree crown. In this study, the Diameter at Breast Height (DBH), Crown Live Ratio (LCR), Crown Dieback (CDBK), Crown Transparency (CT), and Crown Chlorosis (CC) of trees at University of Toronto – St. George campus were assessed by field measurements and Google Street View images. The study shows that the average of DBH and LCR measurements of trees planted in constricted and non-constricted areas are considerably different, which might be due to more space in non-constricted areas, which allows the roots to spread laterally in those areas rather than constricted ones. Moreover, the GSV evaluation demonstrated that the images can be applied to assess LCR, whereas, they may not be reliable to evaluate CDBK or CC as the mentioned features are not detectable in GSV images. 2. Introduction Urban forestry is defined as the art, science, and technology of managing trees in the urban areas for their sociological, physiological, economic, and aesthetic benefits (Konijnendijk et al. 2006). One of the most noticeable and vital parts of a street is trees which have profound impacts on their surrounding environment, including: 1. Reducing the air pollutants, which is considerably higher in large, healthy trees compared to small trees due to the greater…