Urban Tree Management: Through the use of Geographic Information Systems

The urban trees were studied in order to develop a forest inventory model using a Geographic Information System (GIS). The neighborhood has 32 blocks, a median, a traffic circle, a park and an easement, with an area of 49.95 hectares. A tree census was carried out with the support of mapping, surveying and data collection. A census of 1,386 trees of 81 species belonging to 31 botanical families was taken. The present condition of the trees shows that 33.91% are healthy, 57.07% in fair condition, 7.36% in poor condition and 1.66% dead. The dasometric variables indicate the management needs, identifying in the mapping the situation of the trees. A silvicultural tree management program was developed, which can be adopted for decision making. A green area per inhabitant ratio of 9.16 m2 was found, which covers the minimum standard recommended by the WHO for green areas per inhabitant. There is a ratio of 3.03 trees per inhabitant, which is much higher than the WHO criteria that states that urban areas should have one tree for every three inhabitants in order to have better air quality.