The N-tree approximation scheme, introduced in the context of random directed
polymers, is here applied to the computation of the maximum Lyapunov exponent
in a coupled map lattice. We discuss both an exact implementation for small
tree-depth n and a numerical implementation for larger ns. We find that the
phase-transition predicted by the mean field approach shifts towards larger
values of the coupling parameter when the depth n is increased. We conjecture
that the transition eventually disappears.Comment: RevTeX, 15 pages,5 figure