i-Tree application helps to evaluate and protect urban forests

On August 17, Ho Chi Minh City Nong Lam University held a seminar to summarize the i-Tree program in Vietnam in the period of 2022 - 2023. The workshop aimed to assess the overall applicability of i-Tree in practice after one year of operation, and direction for the following years. 

The i-Tree application is a tool developed by the United States Forest Service (USFS). Users only need to enter data about trees into the application, i-Tree will analyze and return the results of the parameters of carbon, air, hydrology, energy and value of trees... From there, future forecasts are made. 

Mr Andrew Anderson, Senior Forestry Commissioner of the US Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City said, i-Tree will help managers specifically assess the value of each tree such as leaf area, leaf biomass, tree biomass, trunk health, ability to store and absorb CO2, eliminate air pollution.

“The software can be used to evaluate at scales ranging from a few ha to thousands of ha, equivalent to the size of a park, garden, campus or a city,” said Andrew Anderson.

In the context that the whole country is implementing a project to plant 1 billion trees - for a green Vietnam, urban tree management is very necessary, so i-Tree is an advanced tool that can be highly effective for this task.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Tat Toan, Vice Rector in charge of Nong Lam University in Ho Chi Minh City said: i-Tree is a powerful tool that can be used to assess the value of urban trees. This model can be used to estimate the benefits that trees bring, such as helping to eliminate air pollution, save energy as well as other ecosystem problems.

i-Tree with relatively complete tools will help plan the planting of suitable trees in each area, as well as bring practical and effective values ​​to get a green and healthy environment.

In the context that Vietnam is accelerating digital transformation in all fields, i-Tree is expected to be a useful tool, helping to produce data, algorithms and digitize information to help manage and protect trees more effectively.

MSc Hoang Van Chuong, Vietnam Urban Forestry Project Advisor (US Forestry Department) said that the i-Tree program has been very successful in managing urban trees in the US and more than 100 other countries.

“We really want to bring the i-Tree network to Vietnam for the sake of science and global greening. With initial successes, i-Tree has created a network of practical and teaching uses. In addition, together with Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City, we were able to carry out some initial basic research on the ecology of protecting forests and urban trees”, MSc Hoang Van Chuong said.