A prototype decision support system for sustainable urban tree planting programs

Abstract

The prototype decision support system (PDSS) described within this paper represents one of the first of its kind in the urban forest/civil engineering research arena. The primary objective of this research was to develop a user-friendly, intuitive PDSS that provides users with tools for improved micro-management of the urban forest canopy. The secondary objective was to generate further discussion with respect to the relevance of viewing the urban forest as a municipal infrastructure, and designing and implementing sound management plans with the same rigor and attention to detail that is adhered to in the design and implementation of its civil engineering counterparts. The PDSS is divided into seven modules: (1) determination of potential native and non-native tree species available for planting; (2) defining the plantable and non-plantable areas in a defined region; (3) determination of planting locations; (4) species diversity assignment; (5) evaluating age distribution; (6) evaluating canopy cover, and (7) shadow analysis. Within each module the PDSS provides flexibility with respect to user input and constraints and for ease of use contains downloadable user reference guides. The PDSS was developed in three components, using three commonly used software programs: (1) SMODT, which is a south to south-central Ontario, Canada database of trees, developed in Microsoft Access Database; (2) ArcTrees, which is a GIS-based application that uses customized tools to map the plantable and non-plantable area in the urban environment, and (3) TreeModules, which uses a customized user interface in Microsoft Excel to carry out functions for Module 1 and Modules 3 through 7 inclusive. The PDSS uses rule-based algorithms that interact with expert knowledge and heuristics to draw inferences based on guided user inputs, through customized user-interfaces.