Quick links for the sections on this page.
How to Use i-Tree Landscape
Welcome!
i-Tree Landscape allows you to explore tree canopy, land cover, and basic demographic information in a location of your choosing. With the information provided by i-Tree Landscape, you will learn about the benefits of trees in your selected location, see how planting trees will increase the benefits provided, and map the areas where you decide to prioritize your tree planting efforts.
Interested in viewing this How-To text while you work on your Landscape project? Click on the Menu drop-down list, in the navigation bar, at the top of the page, select Help, then right-click the How to Use option and click Open link in new window. This will open the How-To text in a separate window so you can conveniently view both webpages at once.
Important Features and Tools
As you work through your i-Tree Landscape project, you will see that there are five important features that are available on every page, except Build A Report.
- Main
- This section includes different Base Maps and Boundary Layers that can be added to the map. The Base Maps include the lowest level underlying layers that can be used for the map display. Google Streets is the default base, but aerial maps are a common alternative because they can be useful for investigating satellite images of land cover. Boundary Layers, include administrative boundaries like U.S. Census block groups, places, and counties along with US National Forest Land and watersheds. The Visibility Setting allow for a Transparency value to be set, making it easier to see through to the base maps underneath.
- Canopy & Land Layers
- This section includes tree canopy, impervious cover, plantable space and land cover type data that can be added to the map. Where available, the land cover layer will display high-resolution data; in all other areas, the default land cover is from the 2011 NLCD (learn more on our References page).
- Forest Risk
- This section includes potential for wildfire, and climate hot spots that show predicted tempuratures and precipitation levels for the year 2060.
- Health Risk
- This section includes concentrations of certain air pollutants, extent of ultraviolet radiation, and tempurature hotspots with respect to population densities available to plantable space.
- Future Climate
- This section includes data the can be used to look at future climate conditions. Projections are calculated with data from the National center for Atmospheric Research, looking at estimated averages obtained with Representative Concentration pathways (RCP) models for future decades.
- Navigate
- Use this tool to zoom in and out, either with your mouse wheel, or by click-dragging to pan/navigate about the map display.
- Identify
- Use this tool to click on a selected region and display its ID.
- Select
- Use this tool to select a geographic region on the map based on the type defined in "choose a geography to work with" the drop-down list. You may select multiple regions. Click a selected region again to deselect it.
- Box-Select
- Use this tool to draw a rectangle on the map and select all of the regions within it.
- Swap
- Use this tool to choose a selected region on the map and replace it with all of the regions of a different type that intersect or are contained within its boundaries.You can a) select all of the smaller geographies contained within your selection (e.g., swap a selected state for all of the counties within that state) or b) select a larger geography that overlaps with your selection (e.g., swap a selected block group for the county where the block group is contained).
- Start Over
- Use this tool to delete your active project, clear the web browser cache, and start a new project from scratch.
- Clear
- Use this tool to remove all of the selected regions.
- Process
- Use this tool to update the data displayed below the map display so that it reflects the results for your current geographic selection.
The main tab on the control panel also contains important tools for interacting with the map display and selecting your geographic regions for analysis. Choose the type of boundary that the tools will use for analysis by clicking on the drop down menu (Census block group, state, etc.) Nested under the heading "use these tools to work with the map", the selection tool functions are as follows:
While you are working on a project, the progress bar is located below the map display and indicates the information available on that page. To move between steps, click the Next or Back buttons or click on the desired step title in the progress bar.
The search bar and control panel features may be collapsed or expanded at any time to customize your view of the map display.
Project Steps
Follow the five, simple steps below to successfully create a project in i-Tree Landscape. The current stage of a project is represented by the progress bar shown below the map. (To move between steps, click the Next or Back buttons or click on the desired step in the progress bar.)
1. Find Locations
On the "Find Locations" page, you will find an abbreviated version of this How-To text.
In this stage of your project, you will be identifying the geographic region(s) that you would like to analyze.
To start, you can quickly zoom to an area of interest by entering a location, such as a city or street address, in the search bar.
Another important feature is the control panel located along the right side of the map which lists all of the available datasets: Map Layers, Canopy & Land Layers, and Base Maps. Explore the datasets and view them in the map display by turning layers on and off in the control panel.
With your area of interest visible in the map display, you can select the geographic region(s) that you would like to include in your project. First, designate the type of region that you would like to select by choosing from the "Choose a geograhy to work with" drop-down list in the control panel. Then, select a region of interest or multiple regions by using the control panel's Select tool and clicking on the map.
Users may choose to include a single region of interest - such as a block group, city, county, or state - in their selection. You can also choose to include multiple regions that are the same type (e.g., all block groups) or different types (e.g, a block group and a county).
You can continue through a project by clicking the Next button or by clicking the desired step in the progress bar. However, note that you do not have to move through the project stages in order. Experienced users can safely skip some of the steps and go directly to the stages that they are most interested in.
- Large quantities of boundary area selections may take several minutes to process. Processing that exceeds 30 minutes will halt due to server resource limits.
- Maximum number of selections: a handful of states, a few hundred counties, or less than a thousand block groups. These are subject to change.
- Your computer and internet connection may only be able to handle a smaller number than these maximums.
- If you receive a Timeout error, please try Reloading the page once or twice. As some calculations are cached; it may be possible to finish the remainder. If the problem persists, visit the homepage and use the Project menu > Start Over button and then split your analysis area into smaller sub-projects.
- Metered Connection Warning: i-Tree Landscape is data intensive and not recommended for data plans that charge based on consumption.
2. Explore Location Data
In this stage of your project, you can view the data associated with the geographic region(s) that you have selected. Data are displayed below the map and can be viewed in English or Metric units and in table or chart format. You can also choose to color code the data among your geographies by total values or by percentages.
The data below the map is divided into the following tabs:
- Canopy & Impervious
- This tab includes the amount (i.e., area and percent) of the land area in each selected region that is covered by tree canopy or impervious cover, such as roads or buildings, as well as the amount of plantable space (not water, impervious surface, or trees).
- Land Cover
- This tab includes the amount (i.e., area and percent) of the total area in each selected region that is covered by various land cover classes. Click on the sub-tabs available here for the different cover groupings. In table view, land cover classes are color-coded to serve as a legend for the land cover layer (available in the control panel). Click on the color coded headers for a description of each land cover class.
- People
- This tab includes a variety of information about the people living in each selected region. Click on the sub-tabs available here for population, income, home, household, and educational attainment statistics.
- Forest Risk
- This tab includes a variety of environmental data and indices that can be used to determine potential risks to the forest in each selected region. Click on the sub-tabs available here for potential forest risks, such as wildfire and pest outbreaks.
- Health Risk
- This tab includes a variety of environmental data and indices that can be used to relate environmental quality to human health in each selected region. Click on the sub-tabs available here for potential risks to human health, such as air pollution and water quality.
- Future Climate
- This tab includes environmental data and indicates that can be used to look at future climate conditions. Projections are calculated with data from the National Center for Atmospheric Research, looking at estimated averages obtained with Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) models. Click on the sub-tabs available here for to look at pollution and tempurature estimates for future decades.
Click on the available tabs to move through the data displayed in this stage.
Customize how your location data are displayed with these features:
- Land Cover
- Choose the dataset that you would like your location data to be based on by clicking one of the following buttons:
- "HiRes" – data are based on high resolution land cover data (limited availability).
- "2011" – data are based on the 2011 National Land Cover Database.
- "2001" – data are based on the 2001 National Land Cover Database.
- Unit
- Choose to view your location data in "Metric" (e.g., meters) or "English" (e.g., feet) units by clicking on the appropriate button.
- Display
- Choose to view your location data in "Table" or "Chart" format by clicking on the appropriate button.
Customize your data display further by taking advantage of the following tools while in table view:
- Remove
- Click on the "X" in the remove column of the data table. This will remove the region in that row from the selection group.
- Sort
- Click on the double triangle symbol in the column header to sort columns in ascending or descending order. This feature is available only for some columns.
- Swap
- Click on the double arrow symbol in the swap column of the data table. This will allow you to swap the region in that row for all of the regions of a different type that intersect or are contained within its boundaries.
- Highlight
- Check the box in the highlight column of the data table. This will highlight the region in that row on the map display.
- Expand/Collapse
- The final row of the table shows the total results of your selection group. Click on the arrow in the remove column of the final row to expand or collapse the table. This will show or hide the results by region.
It is never too late to change the regions that you have selected for your analysis! Make changes to your selection in any stage you want – just remember to click the Process button in the control panel so the data for your new selection will be presented below the map.
To move between steps, click the Next or Back buttons or click on the desired step in the progress bar.
3. See Tree Benefits
In this stage of your project, you can view the tree benefits associated with the geographic region(s) that you have selected. Data are displayed below the map and can be viewed in English or Metric units and in table or chart format.
The data below the map is divided into the following tabs:
- Carbon
- This tab includes the amount of carbon and carbon dioxide equivalent that is sequestered and stored by the trees in each selected region. The associated economic value is also displayed.
- Air Pollution
- This tab includes the amount and economic value of the air pollution that is removed by the trees in each selected region.
- Hydrology
- This tab shows the role that the trees in each selected region play in the local hydrology by including transpiration, rainfall interception, and avoided runoff estimates.
Click on the available tabs to move through the tree benefits data displayed in this stage.
Customize how your tree benefits data are displayed with these three features:
- Dataset
- Choose the dataset that you would like your location data to be based on by clicking one of the following buttons:
- "HiRes" – data are based on high resolution land cover data (limited availability).
- "2011" – data are based on the 2011 National Land Cover Database.
- "2001" – data are based on the 2001 National Land Cover Database.
- Unit
- Choose to view your location data in "Metric" (e.g., meters) or "English" (e.g., feet) units by clicking on the appropriate button.
- Display
- Choose to view your location data in "Table" or "Chart" format by clicking on the appropriate button.
Customize your data display further by taking advantage of the following tools while in table view:
- Remove
- Click on the "X" in the remove column of the data table. This will remove the region in that row from the selection group.
- Sort
- Click on the triangle symbol in the column header to sort columns in ascending or descending order. This feature is available only for some columns.
- Swap
- Click on the double arrow symbol in the swap column of the data table. This will allow you to swap the region in that row for all of the regions of a different type that intersect or are contained within its boundaries.
- Highlight
- Check the box in the highlight column of the data table. This will highlight the region in that row on the map display.
- Expand/Collapse
- The final row of the table shows the total results of your selection group. Click on the arrow in the remove column of the final row to expand or collapse the table. This will show or hide the results by region.
It is never too late to change the regions that you have selected for your analysis! Make changes to your selection in any stage you want – just remember to click the Process button in the control panel so the data for your new selection will be presented below the map.
To move between steps, click the Next or Back buttons or click on the desired step in the progress bar.
4. Prioritize Tree Planting
In forest management planning, an important thing to consider is where to target tree planting to promote sustainable tree benefits in the areas where they are most valuable. In this stage of your project, you can try out an easy method for prioritizing your selected regions for tree planting.
The priority planting index requires multiple regions. If your selection group does not contain at least two regions, this stage will not be operable.
For custom scenarios, choose from multiple criteria, including various land cover, demographic, risk, and tree benefit data, to create a priority index. Weight each selected criterion between 1 and 100 so that the sum of all selected criteria equals 100. You can use the Equalize button to weight your criteria equally or enter weights manually by using the slider bar or by typing a number in the space provided.
Start by indicating which of the following datasets you would like to use for your priority planting scenario:
- "HiRes" – data are based on high resolution land cover data (limited availability).
- "2011" – data are based on the 2011 National Land Cover Database.
- "2001" – data are based on the 2001 National Land Cover Database.
Then, decide what type of priority planting scenario you would like to do:
- Common Scenarios
- Choose from one of the scenarios provided by Landscape by clicking one of the following buttons:
- Population
- Index that weights towards areas of relatively high population density, low tree cover per capita, and high available planting space.
- Minorities
- Index that weights towards areas of relatively high minority population density, low tree cover per capita, and high available planting space.
- Poverty
- Index that weights towards areas of relatively high proportion of population below the poverty line, low tree cover per capita, and high available planting space.
- The criteria and weights for these standard scenarios will automatically be filled in the boxes below.
Choose to create your own custom priority planting scenarios by defining the criteria and weights in the boxes provided
Each criterion that is included in your analysis is standardized on a scale of 0 to 1, with a score of 1 assigned to the selected region with the highest priority. In each selected region, the individual criteria scores are combined based on their importance (i.e., weight). Overall priority planting index (PPI) values are between 0 and 100.
A user is interested in prioritizing planting for all of the counties in New York State. The goal is to determine which counties have the lowest tree stock and highest population density – these counties will get the highest priority for planting.
To create an index based on this scenario, the user selects the "low tree stocking level" and "high population density" criteria. The user decides to weight both criteria equally so they define the importance (weight) for each as 50 (Reminder: The sum of all criteria weights must equal 100.)
The priority planting index (PPI) value for each county would the be calculated as:
Where TS is the county's tree stocking level criteria score (0 to 1) and PD is the county's population density criteria score (0 to 1).
Try multiple priority planting custom and/or common scenarios! Each time you make changes to your priority planting index, be sure click the Update Map Display button to see your new results in the map. Make your priority planting results transparent on the map display or choose a different color scheme by using the "Planting Prioritization" settings in the control panel. Save the planting priority scenarios that you are interested in so they can be included in your results in step 5.
It is never too late to change the regions that you have selected for your analysis! Make changes to your selection in any stage you want – just remember to click the Process button in the control panel so the data for your new selection will be presented below the map.
To move between steps, click the Next or Back buttons or click on the desired step in the progress bar.
5. Build A Report
In this stage of your project, you can create, view, and export reports with the results that you are most interested in. Landscape provides several standard reports or you can choose to create your own custom reports.
Your report can be composed of data from Location Information, Tree Benefits, and Planting Prioritization. Each of these categories is represented by a separate box on the Build Report page.
The steps for the Location Information and Tree Benefits categories are as follows:- Step 1
- Choose to display all data or totals only: Check the box if you want to display only the combined total for your selected boundaries in your report. Uncheck the box to display the total, plus the values from each of your selected boundaries.
- Step 2
- Select element styles: Choose whether you want to add individual data elements to your report, or combined elements.
- Step 3
- Select specific data elements: Choose the data that you would like to include in your report by selecting from the drop-down menu.
- Step 4
- Display as: Choose to view your report element in "Table", "Chart", or "Map" format by selecting from the drop-down menu.
- Step 5
-
Pick your dataset:
Choose the dataset that you would like your location data to be based on by selecting one of the following from the dropdown:
- "HiRes" – data are based on high resolution land cover data (limited availability).
- "2011" – data are based on the 2011 National Land Cover Database.
- "2001" – data are based on the 2001 National Land Cover Database.
- Step 6
- Specify units: Choose to view your location data in "Metric" (e.g., meters) or "English" (e.g., feet) units by clicking on the appropriate button.
- Step 7
- Add a description: Add optional text to help describe your report element.
- Step 8
- Add your element: Click the Add Element button to add your element to your report configuration.
- Step 1
- Choose a scenario: Select one of the prepared scenarios, or, from the Custom Scenarios dropdown, select a scenario you created on the Prioritize Tree Planting page.
- Step 2
- Display as: Choose to view your report element in "Table", "Chart", or "Map" format by selecting from the drop-down menu.
- Step 3
- Pick your dataset:
Choose the dataset that you would like your location data to be based on by selecting one of the following from the dropdown:
- "HiRes" – data are based on high resolution land cover data (limited availability).
- "2011" – data are based on the 2011 National Land Cover Database.
- "2001" – data are based on the 2001 National Land Cover Database.
- Step 4
- Add a description: Add optional text to help describe your report element.
- Step 5
- Add your element: Click the Add Element button to add your element to your report configuration.
Whether you choose a standard report or to create your own, the list of elements that will be included in your report will appear in the "Your Report Elements" table. Customize your data display further by taking advantage of the following tools in the table below each category:
- Remove
- Click on the "X" in the "Remove" column of the data table. This will remove the report in that row from the report element.
- Ordering
- Click on the arrow symbol in the "Ordering" column of the data table and drag the row up or down to change the order in which results will be displayed.
When you have made all of your selections, click the Build Report button to view and choose the layout of your results. Use your Internet browser's print function to print the results that are displayed here. (Note: The content that you see in the dashed border is what will be printed from this page.)
To move back to a different step, click the Back button or click on the desired step in the progress bar.
Helpful Hints
The tips summarized here are also included throughout the help text, in italics.
Interested in viewing this How-To text while you work on your Landscape project? Click on the Menu drop-down list, in the navigation bar, at the top of the page, select Help, then right-click the How to Use option and select Open link in new window. This will open the How-To text in a separate window so you can conveniently view both webpages at once.
The search bar and control panel features may be collapsed or expanded at any time.
An abbreviated version of this help text is available on the Find Locations page.
Users do not have to move through the project stages in order. Experienced users can safely skip some of the steps and go directly to the stages that they are most interested in.
It is never too late to change the regions that you have selected for your analysis! Make changes to your selection in any stage you want – just remember to click the Process button in the control panel so the data for your new selection will be presented below the map.
The priority planting index requires multiple regions. If your selection group does not contain at least two regions, the Prioritize Tree Planting stage will not be operable.
References
i-Tree Landscape offers users a wide variety of data (including calculated values) and map layers. For more information about Landscape's methods and metadata, visit our References page or go to www.itreetools.org under Resources > Archives > i-Tree Landscape Resources. To access our References page, click on the Menu drop-down list at the top of Landscape window, select Help, and then click the References option.