How Introducing a Tree Monitoring System Improved Forest Rehabilitation in Korea (1973–1987)

This case study examines adaptations in the Republic of Korea’s reforestation policy between 1973 and 1987, with a focus on the introduction of the tree monitoring system (Geommok, ). The tree monitoring system is one of a number of policies that contributed to successful forest reclamation projects, and has been evaluated as improving the survival rate of seedlings in plantations and increasing the responsibility and morale of forestry officers. This study analyzes the background, objectives, implementation processes, results, effects, and success factors of this system based on principles of the science of delivery. science of delivery. The tree monitoring system specified practices for checking the survival rate of the seedlings in plantations and ensuring that seedlings were raised successfully, using the annual plans in the tree nurseries as a reference. The government established this monitoring system in 1973 to conduct monitoring transparently and objectively, thereby excluding any indication of favoritism. The first phase of tree monitoring was conducted under the supervision of a provincial governor by exchanging the tree monitoring inspectors among different counties or cities within a given province. The second phase of plantation tree monitoring was conducted under the supervision of Forest Service by exchanging the tree monitoring inspectors among different provinces throughout the country. The tree monitoring inspectors were trained in the Geonmok system by the Forest Service before beginning their assignments to ensure the quality of project. The survival rate of the trees in plantations in their second year was low—around 80 percent before 1973—but the national average in 1974 increased to 86.6 percent after the introduction of plantation tree monitoring system. The survival rate continued to increase, reaching 93.8 percent by 1985. This contributed significantly to successful forest reclamation. In addition, the identification of the number of seedlings surviving in the tree nurseries allowed the Forest Service to formulate more accurate planting plans for the following year

New tree monitoring systems: from Industry 4.0 to Nature 4.0

Recently, Internet of Things (IoT) technologies have grown rapidly and represent now a unique opportunity to improve our environmental monitoring capabilities at extremely low costs. IoT is a new system of thinking in which objects, animals or people are equipped with unique identifiers and transfer data a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction. IoT has evolved from the convergence of wireless technologies, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and the Internet. The development of these technologies in environmental monitoring domains allows real-time data transmission and numerous low-cost monitoring points. We have designed a new device, the TreeTalker©, which is capable of measuring water transport in trees, diametrical growth, spectral characteristics of the leaves and microclimatic parameters and transmit data in semi-real time. Here we introduce the device’s features, provide an example of monitored data from a field test site and discuss the application of this new technology to tree monitoring in various contexts, from forest to urban green infrastructures management and ecological research

Tree monitoring using ground penetrating radar: two case studies using reverse-time migration

Non-destructive testing (NDT) for health monitoring of trees is a suitable candidate for detecting signs of early decay [1]. Recent developments [2,3,4] have highlighted that ground-penetrating radar (GPR) has the potential to provide with a robust and accurate detection tool with minimum computational and operational requirements in the field. In particular, a processing framework is suggested in [2] that can effectively remove ringing noise and unwanted clutter. Subsequently, an arc length parameterisation is employed in order to utilise a wheel-measurement device to accurately position the measured traces. Lastly, two migration schemes; Kirchhoff and reversetime migration, are successfully applied on numerical and laboratory data in [3]. In the current paper, the detection scheme described in [2,3] using reverse-time migration is tested in two case studies that involve diseased urban trees within the greater London area, UK (Kensington and Gunnersbury park). Both of the trees were cut down after the completion of the measurements and furthermore cut into several slices to get direct information with regards to their internal structure. The processing scheme described in [3,4] managed to adequately detect the internal decay present in both trees. The aforementioned case studies provide coherent evidences to support the premise that GPR is capable of detecting decay in diseased trunks and therefore has the potential to become an accurate and efficient diagnostic tool against emerging infectious diseases of trees

TreeWatch.net : a water and carbon monitoring and modeling network to assess instant tree hydraulics and carbon status

TreeWatch.net is an initiative that has been developed to watch trees grow and function in real-time. It is a water- and carbon-monitoring and modeling network, in which high quality measurements of sap flow and stem diameter variation are collected on individual trees. Automated data processing using a cloud service enables instant visualization of water movement and radial stem growth. This can be used to demonstrate the sensitivity of trees to changing weather conditions, such as drought, heat waves, or heavy rain showers. But TreeWatch.net's true innovation lies in its use of these high precision harmonized data to also parameterize process-based tree models in real-time, which makes displaying the much needed mechanisms underlying tree responses to climate change possible. Continuous simulation of turgor to describe growth processes and long-term time series of hydraulic resistance to assess drought-vulnerability in real-time are only a few of the opportunities our approach offers. TreeWatch.net has been developed with the view to be complementary to existing forest monitoring networks and with the aim to contribute to existing dynamic global vegetation models. It provides high-quality data and real-time simulations in order to advance research on the impact of climate change on the biological response of trees and forests. Besides its application in natural forests to answer climate-change related scientific and political questions, we also envision a broader societal application of TreeWatch.net by selecting trees in nature reserves, public areas, cities, university areas, schoolyards, and parks to teach youngsters and create public awareness on the effects of changing weather conditions on trees and forests in this era of climate change

North Campus Open Space Restoration Project Annual Monitoring Report: Year 2 (2019)

Born out of a vision shared by the local community, students, faculty, researchers and state and federal agencies, the North Campus Open Space (NCOS) restoration project is recreating more than 40 acres of estuarine and palustrine wetlands that historically comprised the upper portion of Devereux Slough that was filled in the mid-1960s to create the Ocean Meadows golf course. Led by the UC Santa Barbara Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration (CCBER) in collaboration with other UCSB departments, faculty, student and local community groups, contractors and government agencies, the project is also restoring more than 60 acres of upland habitats that include native grassland, coastal sage scrub, riparian, oak chaparral woodland, vernal pools and patches of annual wildflowers in clay and sandy soils. In addition to wetland and upland habitat restoration, the goals of the NCOS project include flood reduction, support for threatened and endangered species, public access and the provision of educational opportunities. Ancillary benefits of the project include carbon sequestration, preservation of local genotypes, and protection of adjacent ecological values and infrastructure through a design that integrates sea level rise considerations.Currently in its third year of implementation, the main planting phase of the project is approximately 90% complete, and the focus is now turning towards maintenance, continued monitoring, new research projects, and supplemental planting to add diversity, including special status species such as the Ventura marsh milk-vetch (Astragalus pycnostachys var. lanosissimus). This report describes the methods and results of monitoring for the first two years of the project, from vegetation and wildlife to wetland geomorphology, hydrology and water quality, carbon sequestration studies, community use and a detailed record of restoration efforts by type of worker, task and site location. This work documents the progress of the project and supports longer-term research and monitoring programs. Results from the second year of monitoring show substantial progress towards the project’s restoration goals, with many being met or exceeded

Automatic Large Scale Detection of Red Palm Weevil Infestation using Aerial and Street View Images

The spread of the Red Palm Weevil has dramatically affected date growers, homeowners and governments, forcing them to deal with a constant threat to their palm trees. Early detection of palm tree infestation has been proven to be critical in order to allow treatment that may save trees from irreversible damage, and is most commonly performed by local physical access for individual tree monitoring. Here, we present a novel method for surveillance of Red Palm Weevil infested palm trees utilizing state-of-the-art deep learning algorithms, with aerial and street-level imagery data. To detect infested palm trees we analyzed over 100,000 aerial and street-images, mapping the location of palm trees in urban areas. Using this procedure, we discovered and verified infested palm trees at various locations

Comparing ground and remotely sensed measurements of urban tree canopy in private residences

Private residential areas represent a large portion of urban tree canopy and provide a significant amount of ecosystem services for mitigation of negative environmental impacts. With densification, construction of impermeable surfaces, loss of plantable space and urban tree canopy loss, communities are facing a potential degradation of urban environment and loss of living quality. Monitoring urban tree canopy change with repeated assessments over time is key for supplying information for management decisions. We examined how remote sensing has been used in the past assessments of urban tree canopy area, the public availability and quality of geodata sources and grey literature examples. Field measurements of tree canopy area were collected in private residential properties in Malmö, Sweden and compared to estimates of canopy area using remote sensing data collected by the public mapping agency ‘Lantmäteriet’. The remote sensing model was derived using normalized difference in vegetation (NDVI) and LiDAR. Most Swedish municipalities conduct urban tree monitoring schemes only on street and park trees. Our results show a correlation in remotely sensed tree canopy area and field measurements, suggesting that monitoring of private residential areas can be conducted frequently and non-invasively where remote sensing information of similar quality is available

Reviewing Tree Risk Inventory Framework for Tropical Urban Trees by Malaysia Experts

Malaysia lost 14.4% of its forests due to deforestation. As a result, the forests' ability to protect against physical disturbances was no longer practical. The study aims to review a framework of tree risk inventory for Malaysia’s tropical urban trees. Some expert interview sessions were conducted with Malaysian experts to present the proposed framework. Found that 100% of the experts agree with the framework presented. Additional components were added to the framework based on the data collected. The study could increase the relevant organizations' knowledge of managing tropical urban trees and decrease the deterioration and decline of tropical urban trees in Malaysia. Keywords: hazardous trees; tree monitoring; urban forestry, tree assessment eISSN: 2398-4287 © 2022. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA CE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open-access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under the responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians/Africans/Arabians), and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v7i21.372

Reviewing Tree Risk Inventory Model for Tropical Urban Trees by Malaysian Experts

The study aims to develop a new framework of tree assessment that is suitable for Malaysia’s tropical urban trees. A focus group discussion (FGD) method was conducted with Malaysian experts regarding the criteria needed to assess a tree's condition starting from the juvenile stage. Found that 92% of the participants agree with the preliminary framework presented. Additional components were added to the preliminary framework based on the data collected. The study could increase the relevant organizations' knowledge of managing urban trees and decrease the deterioration and decline of urban trees in Malaysia. Keywords: hazardous trees; tree monitoring; urban forestry, tree assessment eISSN: 2398-4287 © 2022. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians/Africans/Arabians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v7i19.326