Indicator Of Vitality Research Articles

Unveiling dynamics of language visibility and vitality in café menus near Labrang Monastery.

This study explores the dynamics of Linguistic Landscapes (LL) in the commercial tourist district near Labrang Monastery by analyzing the use of Tibetan, Mandarin, and English on café menus. Traditionally, LL research has focused on language visibility as an indicator of vitality, overlooking contextual complexities. We challenge this approach by considering geocultural contexts, instigators' language proficiency, and intended audience. This study employed a triangulation approach, combining multiple methods of data collection and analysis. First, we conducted a preliminary observation of shop names in the region. Second, with the consent of shop owners, we comprehensively documented visual and textual artifacts both inside and outside the cafés, including signboards, menus, wall billboards, and displayed books. Third, we conducted extensive semi-structured interviews with shop owners and customers. These interviews, transcribed for analysis, provided insights into language usage preferences and decision-making processes. By advocating for a holistic LL research approach, integrating qualitative insights with quantitative data, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of LL dynamics. Our findings show that geocultural contexts, instigators' language proficiency, and intended audience all play a role in shaping language representation and vitality. The absence of a language on signage does not necessarily signify diminished vitality but can reflect strategic decisions influenced by religious, individual and commercial factors. Beyond mere visibility, languages on café menus serve as symbolic markers of ethnic identity and reflect the functions they assume within the speech community, offering insights into language vitality across different usage contexts. This research enriches scholarly discourse on LL, particularly within the Chinese context, by emphasizing the multifaceted nature of language presence and its vitality.

Fire up Biosensor Technology to Assess the Vitality of Trees after Wildfires.

The development of tools to quickly identify the fate of damaged trees after a stress event such as a wildfire is of great importance. In this context, an innovative approach to assess irreversible physiological damage in trees could help to support the planning of management decisions for disturbed sites to restore biodiversity, protect the environment and understand the adaptations of ecosystem functionality. The vitality of trees can be estimated by several physiological indicators, such as cambium activity and the amount of starch and soluble sugars, while the accumulation of ethanol in the cambial cells and phloem is considered an alarm sign of cell death. However, their determination requires time-consuming laboratory protocols, making the approach impractical in the field. Biosensors hold considerable promise for substantially advancing this field. The general objective of this review is to define a system for quantifying the plant vitality in forest areas exposed to fire. This review describes recent electrochemical biosensors that can detect plant molecules, focusing on biosensors for glucose, fructose, and ethanol as indicators of tree vitality.

Resilience of men with different types of emotional attachment

The results of a study of the resilience of men in the aspect of their emotional attachment are presented. The relevance of the study is due to the fact that the problem of emotional attachment is becoming more and more relevant in psychological research in connection with the recognition of this phenomenon as an immanent source of effective human functioning, its resilience, and the ability to successfully overcome adverse environmental conditions. Modern society, with its information saturation, instability, and acceleration of the rhythm of life, requires resilience from a person to help cope with difficult life situations. In this regard, it becomes important to identify, study, and comprehend those personal characteristics that are responsible for successful adaptation and coping with life difficulties. It is especially important to study this issue in men of the period of middle adulthood – the time not only of the heyday of personal and professional achievements, but also the time of crisis, decrease in vital activity, and the collapse of hopes. The study involved 50 male people, aged 26 to 35 years (Msr. = 30.6), with higher education, married. To process the results of the study, cluster analysis (hierarchical, K-means), the Mann-Whitney difference criterion were used. Two groups of men with reliably avoidant and avoidantly cautious types of attachment were identified, taking into account the data obtained, the features of their resilience were studied. It was found that in men with a reliably avoidant type of attachment, the indicators of vitality are significantly higher than in men with an avoidantly cautious type of attachment. In the theoretical aspect, knowledge on the problems of resilience and emotional attachment of men has been enriched; in practical terms, the results of the study can be used in the activities of a psychologist to prevent men's crisis states during middle adulthood.

Inventorying and proposing solutions for street tree management in Thu Duc city, Ho Chi Minh City

Tree inventory plays an essential role in the urban landscape master plan. It serves as the foundation for data acquisition that supports the planning strategy and decisions relating to the community’s interests, particularly in recently established cities like Thu Duc city. This research was carried out from October 2021 to December 2022 in this city and aimed to inventory to gather qualified information for managing the city’s street trees. The study used an inventory form of street trees including criteria such as name, family, diameter at breast height (DBH), total height, and indicators of vitality and distance from trees to infrastructure. By this form, 287 streets were surveyed. The total number of investigated trees was 31.023 trees belonging to 65 species and 24 flora families, of which the species with a high percentage (from 10% or more) were Dipterocarpus alatus, Hopea odorata, Peltophorum pterocarpum, and Lagerstroemia speciosa. The most numerous plant family was Fabaceae. These trees typically had a height of less than 10 m, with a DBH of less than 20 cm. Many streets did not guarantee the distance between trees and infrastructure, particularly the distance to the electrical systems. The survey also showed that the majority of trees were healthy and grow healthily. From the current situation of Thu Duc city street trees, three solutions must be prioritized in order to improve street trees in this city.

Using cardiorespiratory fitness to operationalize vitality: a path analysis on the hierarchical structure of intrinsic capacity

BackgroundThere is a lack of consensus about the operationalization of vitality, which is one of the intrinsic capacity (IC) domains. In particular, no study has investigated whether cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) can be considered a vitality indicator. ObjectiveTo examine whether vitality is the upstream domain of IC, and establish the validity of CRF as a vitality indicator, using maximal oxygen consumption (VO2 max) as a representative. Methods561 older adults from a longitudinal cohort study were included. Variables under consideration were VO2 max, other IC domains, instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), and handgrip strength, which was considered an already validated indicator of vitality. Using handgrip strength as the reference point, path analyses were performed to examine whether VO2 max followed a similar hierarchical structure in predicting change in IADL difficulty through other IC domains. ResultsThe mean age of the participants was 75.5 years. The path model in which vitality was measured by VO2 max demonstrated adequate fit, which was similar to the model in which vitality was measured by handgrip strength. Regarding the path coefficients, the model using VO2 max demonstrated significant total and indirect effects. Notably, the indirect effect was due to the locomotor domain (standardized coefficient = −0.148, p < .001), but not the cognitive or psychological domain. ConclusionVitality is the upstream domain of IC. VO2 max can be considered an indicator to operationalize the vitality concept.

Exploring butterfly diversity: A comparative review of Lalbagh Botanical Garden and Cubbon Park of Bengaluru

Butterflies play a pivotal role as an indicator of environmental health and ecosystem vitality. Their presence often signifies diverse invertebrate populations, which constitute a significant portion of global biodiversity. Butterflies serve as ecological indicators in urban environments, are sensitive to environmental changes, and play a crucial role as pollinators. Butterfly diversity studies are vital for understanding the ecological health of urban green spaces. Lalbagh Botanical Garden and Cubbon Park, two renowned botanical gardens in Bangalore, India, are often compared for their biodiversity. This study aims to compare the diversity of butterflies in these two parks based on the available checklist of species. Key words: Biodiversity, butterfly, ecosystem, pollination.

Identifying drivers of non-stationary climate-growth relationships of European beech

The future performance of the widely abundant European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) across its ecological amplitude is uncertain. Although beech is considered drought-sensitive and thus negatively affected by drought events, scientific evidence indicating increasing drought vulnerability under climate change on a cross-regional scale remains elusive. While evaluating changes in climate sensitivity of secondary growth offers a promising avenue, studies from productive, closed-canopy forests suffer from knowledge gaps, especially regarding the natural variability of climate sensitivity and how it relates to radial growth as an indicator of tree vitality. Since beech is sensitive to drought, we in this study use a drought index as a climate variable to account for the combined effects of temperature and water availability and explore how the drought sensitivity of secondary growth varies temporally in dependence on growth variability, growth trends, and climatic water availability across the species' ecological amplitude.Our results show that drought sensitivity is highly variable and non-stationary, though consistently higher at dry sites compared to moist sites. Increasing drought sensitivity can largely be explained by increasing climatic aridity, especially as it is exacerbated by climate change and trees' rank progression within forest communities, as (co-)dominant trees are more sensitive to extra-canopy climatic conditions than trees embedded in understories. However, during the driest periods of the 20th century, growth showed clear signs of being decoupled from climate. This may indicate fundamental changes in system behavior and be early-warning signals of decreasing drought tolerance. The multiple significant interaction terms in our model elucidate the complexity of European beech's drought sensitivity, which needs to be taken into consideration when assessing this species' response to climate change.

Brood indicators are an early warning signal of honey bee colony loss-a simulation-based study.

Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are exposed to multiple stressors such as pesticides, lack of forage, and diseases. It is therefore a long-standing aim to develop robust and meaningful indicators of bee vitality to assist beekeepers While established indicators often focus on expected colony winter mortality based on adult bee abundance and honey reserves at the beginning of the winter, it would be useful to have indicators that allow detection of stress effects earlier in the year to allow for adaptive management. We used the established honey bee simulation model BEEHAVE to explore the potential of different indicators such as population size, number of capped brood cells, flight activity, abundance of Varroa mites, honey stores and a brood-bee ratio. We implemented two types of stressors in our simulations: 1) parasite pressure, i.e. sub-optimal Varroa treatment by the beekeeper (hereafter referred as Biotic stress) and 2) temporal forage gaps in spring and autumn (hereafter referred as Environmental stress). Neither stressor type could be detected by bee abundance or honey reserves at the end of the first year. However, all response variables used in this study did reveal early warning signals during the course of the year. The most reliable and useful measures seem to be related to brood and the abundance of Varroa mites at the end of the year. However, while in the model we have full access to time series of variables from stressed and unstressed colonies, knowledge of these variables in the field is challenging. We discuss how our findings can nevertheless be used to develop practical early warning indicators. As a next step in the interactive development of such indicators we suggest empirical studies on the importance of the number of capped brood cells at certain times of the year on bee population vitality.

Exploring non-linear effects of environmental factors on the volume of pedestrians of different ages using street view images and computer vision technology

Creating pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods and encouraging walking activities not only improves urban liveliness but also delivers health and environmental benefits. Previous research has largely focused on individual walking behavior, which often exhibits stronger associations with personal traits than with built environment characteristics. Pedestrian volume, a significant indicator of urban vitality and collective walking behavior, may have a stronger relationship with environmental characteristics. Moreover, prior studies often hypothesize a linear relationship between built environmental determinants and walking behavior. The exploration of potential non-linear influences may help policy makers and urban planners by identifying minimum, maximum, and optimal values of built environmental variables conducive for walking. Furthermore, studies focusing on the collective walking of older pedestrians remain scarce in the context of aging societies.In this study, we utilize street view imagery and advanced computer vision algorithms to estimate citywide pedestrian volumes and their corresponding age classifications (older adults vs. all). Additionally, we assessed both micro and macro built environmental factors. The possible non-linear impact is examined using Gradient Boosting Decision Tree (GBDT). Our findings reveal disparities in the influence of environmental determinants on the volume of older pedestrians versus that of all pedestrians. Also, the significance of environmental elements exhibits variations across different spatial resolutions. Further, both eye-level vegetation and building level show an inverted U-shaped influence on the pedestrian count.

Meconium aspiration syndrome as indicator of vitality and perinatal illness status in foals

Meconium aspiration syndrome as indicator of vitality and perinatal illness status in foals

Effect of Plantation Density on Some Physical and Technological Parameters of Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris L.)

The issue of optimising the initial stand density (ISD) of tree plantations has high practical importance. The objective of this study was to non-destructively evaluate the influence of the initial stand density of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) plantations located in the European part of the Russian Federation on wood basic density (BD), moisture content (MC), ultrasound velocity (UV), latewood content, and drilling resistance (DR). The trees at the age of 45 years with initial plantation densities of 500, 1000, 3000, 5000, and 10,000 trees/ha were tested by a 5 cm-long core sample for gravimetric MCGM and BD by PULSAR-2.2 for UV along the height (UVH) and through the tree trunk diameter (UVD) by the IML-RESI PD-400 tool for DR, as well as by GANN HT 85T for MC based on the electrical-resistance method (MCERM). A significant influence of ISD was found on DBH, UVD, MCGM, and MCERM. ISD had no significant impact on BD, UVH, and DR. The wood BD ranged from 356 to 578 kg·m−3 with a mean value of 434 ± 3.3 kg·m−3 and was restricted by the soil and environmental factors. DBH and 70% MCERM were good indicators of tree vitality. Linear correlations between DBH and MCERM (R2 = 0.67), DBH and MCGM (R2 = 0.74), DR and BD (R2 = 0.71), and the two-factor model MCGM = f(DBH, BD) with R2 = 0.76 were found.

Tree crown defoliation in forest monitoring: concepts, findings, and new perspectives for a physiological approach in the face of climate change

Abstract Recurrent climate-driven disturbances impact on the health of European forests that reacted with increased tree dieback and mortality over the course of the last four decades. There is therefore large interest in predicting and understanding the fate and survival of forests under climate change. Forest conditions are monitored within the pan-European ICP Forests programme (UN-ECE International Co-operative Programme on Assessment and Monitoring of Air Pollution Effects on Forests) since the 1980s, with tree crown defoliation being the most widely used parameter. Defoliation is not a cause-specific indicator of tree health and vitality, and there is a need to connect defoliation levels with the physiological functioning of trees. The physiological responses connected to tree crown defoliation are species-specific and concern, among others, water relations, photosynthesis and carbon metabolism, growth, and mineral nutrients of leaves. The indicators to measure physiological variables in forest monitoring programs must be easy to apply in the field with current state-of-the-art technologies, be replicable, inexpensive, time efficient and regulated by ad hoc protocols. The ultimate purpose is to provide data to feed process-based models to predict mortality and threats in forests due to climate change. This study reviews the problems and perspectives connected to the realization of a systematic assessment of physiological variables and proposes a set of indicators suitable for future application in forest monitoring programs.

КАЧЕСТВО ЖИЗНИ И СТЕПЕНЬ СОПРОТИВЛЯЕМОСТИ СТРЕССОВЫМ ФАКТОРАМ У НАСЕЛЕНИЯ РЕСПУБЛИКИ БЕЛАРУСЬ ПО ДАННЫМ КЛИНИКО-ЭПИДЕМИОЛОГИЧЕСКИХ ИССЛЕДОВАНИЙ

Mental health of an individual is one of the priorities of healthcare. Positive dynamics in preventing the development of the disease and providing timely assistance in case of its presence helps to prevent a number of social and economic consequences. The aim of this study is to track the level of dependence of the quality of life on the degree of resistance to stress factors among the adult population of our country. Material and methods. A survey of 1200 respondents from six regions of the Republic of Belarus (regional centres, cities, villages) was conducted. The SF-36 questionnaire (The Short Form-36) and the Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale were used. Data were processed using the Statistica 10.0 program. Conclusions. The assessed indicators of physical functioning, role-physical functioning, general health and physical health component are higher among those who live in large cities. Residents of rural areas have higher indicators of role-emotional functioning, mental health, vitality and mental health component.

Посттравматичне зростання в контексті організації волонтерської діяльності як екологічна особистісна потреба

The article is devoted to the study of the relationship between post-traumatic growth and the vitality of the individual in the context of the organization of volunteer activities according to the current ecological situation. The purpose of the article is the justification of post-traumatic growth in the context of the organization of volunteer activities as an environmental problem of personality formation in modern conditions. During the research, the following psychodiagnostic methods were used: the ‘Alexithymia Level Diagnosis (Toronto Aleximism Scale (TAS))’ method, ‘The Changes in Outlook Questionnaire’ (CiOQ) and ‘The Posttraumatic Growth Inventory’ (PTGI, Questionnaire of post-traumatic growth), which is applied in the context of the author's ideas about post-traumatic growth.The theoretical approaches to the peculiarities of the post-traumatic growth of volunteers in the context of the formation of their positive experience and preservation of health in the conditions of war are substantiated. It has been established that the preservation of psychosomatic health depends on personal, psychological, physiological and social indicators of vitality. Post-traumatic positive experience in the context of the formation of the volunteer's environmentalism testifies to the quality of interpersonal relations, the growth of sensitivity and closeness to the personal environment. Post-traumatic stress disorders in volunteers affect the personal sphere of relationships and cause destructive disorders in the sphere of communicative relations. There are differences between volunteer students of various specializations and psychology students in the field of sustainability indicators, but they are not significant enough in the organization of volunteer activities.

Inferring the health of coral reefs on the Egyptian coast of the Gulf of Aqaba for three branching-coral species

ABSTRACTThis investigation examined the vulnerability of three branching coral species (Acropora humilis, Pocillopora damicornis, and Stylophora pistillata) to environmental changes within the marine reserves of Taba, Nuweiba, and Dahab in the Gulf of Aqaba. Coral growth rates were assessed as a key indicator of coral reef vitality, reacting to shifting physicochemical parameters. A. humilis manifested the highest growth rate, followed by S. pistillata and P. damicornis. Site-specific data analysis found Dahab displayed the greatest coral proliferation, with Taba exhibiting the least. Accounting for seasonal changes, spring showed maximal coral growth. Statistical analysis revealed a positive correlation between salinity and coral growth rate, contrasted by a negative correlation with variables such as pH, PO4-P, and silicate (SiO4-Si). This work underscores the significant influence of environmental factors on coral growth rates, and by extension, the health of coral reef ecosystems. These findings are integral to coral reef management, suggesting mitigation of adverse environmental factors could enhance these ecosystems’ resilience against climatic shifts and human-induced stressors. By combining species, site, seasonal, and physicochemical variations, this research underlines the importance of localized conservation strategies.

Long-term growth decline is not reflected in crown condition of European beech after a recent extreme drought

Global warming poses a major threat to forest ecosystems around the world. In Central Europe, vitality losses and tree mortality have already been observed in various regions, especially after extreme drought episodes such as the 2018–2020 drought. European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.), which is the dominating deciduous tree species in large parts of temperate Europe, also suffered from the recent drought. In Germany, for example, losses in crown condition were observed. Within individual stands, however, the crown condition of beech differed strongly from non–/weakly damaged trees (hereafter referred to as vital trees) to severely damaged/dead trees (non-vital trees). Tree characteristics and micro-site conditions were apparently similar. Hence, we checked whether differences in growth behavior exist and (or) developed over time and assessed if observed differences between the non–/vital individuals might be genetically driven. We found that the climate sensitivity as well as the drought resistance of tree growth did not consistently differ between non–/vital trees. In both groups, a growing importance of water availability for tree growth was apparent. Further, long-term growth decline was widespread in both vital and non-vital trees, suggesting severe stress and future risks of tree mortality irrespective of crown condition. Only at one out of nine sites, we found significant differences in individual heterozygosity, signaling potential differences in the adaptation of trees to environmental stress. As a consequence, our study highlights that crown condition after an extreme drought is a poorer indicator of tree vitality than ring width in beech stands in Germany.

Current state of trees and shrubs vegetation conditional references linden-ash oakwoods flood places of Dniprovsk Prisamarya

Natural oakwoods are considered one of the main centers of biodiversity of flora and fauna in Europe and an important agent of providing a wide range of ecosystem, sociocultural and economic services. But in the modern period, there is a decrease in the share of common oak natural forests in the forest reserves of European countries and various manifestations of their degradation. Floodplain forests form a particular value among natural oakwoods. They’re not only play an important role in the formation of vegetation and biogeocenotic cover, but also have a significant positive environment-transforming effect on soil-hydrological and mesoclimatic conditions. That helps to regulate the hydrological regime of river floods. An analysis of the current state of the tree-shrub vegetation of conditional reference linden-ash oakwoods of the central floodplain of the Samara River was conducted. They are a complex of forest vegetation component of Prysamary Dniprovskyi, the territory of which is reserved for the creation of a national nature park. The forest valuation indicators of stands of the main forest-forming tree species have been determined. According to the obtained data, the species composition of tree-shrub vegetation and the type of stand correspond to typical fresh central floodplain linden-ash forests. An increase in the share of participation in the tree stand of Acer campestre and a decrease of Tilia cordata are characteristic. Quercus robur and Fraxinus excelsior take a leading part in the formation of stocks of stem wood. It is determined that in the natural linden-ash oak centropopulation Fraxinus excelsior, Acer platanoides, Acer campestre, Ulmus laevis, Tilia cordata, Ulmus glabra, Pyrus communis, Ulmus minor belong to the normal type and are stable and capable of self-maintenance. The most active self-regeneration is recorded in Acer campestre. The population of Quercus robur is characterized as regressive with signs of disruption of natural regeneration processes and the absence of healthy undergrowth. Fraxinus excelsior, Acer platanoides, Ulmus laevis, Pyrus communis are distinguished by the highest indicators of vitality ((Ln) and according to the index of relative vitality their tree stands belong to the “healthy” categoty. The tree stand of Quercus robur belongs to the “weakend” category. Deterioration of the vitality of Quercus robur tree stands and disruption of its self-regeneration processes can potentially lead to a decrease in the edifying role of oak in fresh linden-ash forets of the valley complex of the Samara River. Also, it can lead to a transformation of their type of wood composition and a decrease in productivity. Major of environmental significance of the forest vegetation of this area requires systematic comprehensive monitoring studies to update current data on the state of unique natural oakwoods. The presented results are a continuation of the monitoring studies of natural reference central floodplain linden-ash forests and can become the basis for the development of differentiated methods of their preservation and restoration.

Sports practice, walking and biking are positively related to quality of life in adults: A cross-sectional study

IntroductionPhysical activity (PA) has been associated with better quality of life (QoL). However, it is not clear whether this association is similar considering the different PA domains and independent of the intensity of PA practiced. ObjectiveTo analyze the relationship between the time spent in PA in different domains [i.e., occupational, sports practice, walking and biking (through a combination of leisure and active transport)] and the QoL (i.e., physical functioning, role-physical, body pain, general health status, vitality, social functioning, role-emotional, and mental health) in adults. MethodsTwo hundred and sixty-one adults with median age of 43.0 years (Interquartile range = 27.0–55.0 years) participated in this epidemiological study with a cross-sectional design. The sample included 261 adults QoL, PA domains, and PA intensities were assessed by the Short-Form Health Survey questionnaire (SF-36), the Baecke questionnaire, and using an accelerometer, respectively. Linear regressions adjusting for sex, age, socioeconomic status, body mass index, smoking status, alcohol consumption, and moderate to vigorous PA were used for analysis. ResultsOccupational PA was negatively related to body pain domain of QoL (β = −4.29; 95%CI = −7.27/-1.31). Sports practice was positively related to physical functioning (β = 3.34 95%CI = 0.52/6.15), general health status (β = 5.48; 95%CI = 2.20/8.76), vitality (β = 5.39; 95%CI = 2.18/8.60), and mental health (β = 3.47; 95%CI = 0.27/6.67) domains of QoL. Walking and biking were positively associated with vitality (β = 4.48; 95%CI = 0.84/8.13) and mental health (β = 4.21; 95%CI = 0.64/7.79) QoL domains. ConclusionIn conclusion, PA domains were associated with QoL differently. Regardless of PA intensity (measured objectively) and other factors, walking and biking were associated with indicators of mental health and vitality.

Crown defoliation and radial increment among decayed and undecayed Norway spruce trees

Pathogen-caused wood decay is believed to be one of a major cause of decreasing tree vitality and increased susceptibility to external biotic and abiotic damaging agents. Using data collected from twenty decay-affected different maturity Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst) stands, this study aims to explore the interaction between butt rot and crown defoliation and radial increment as indicators of tree vitality. Study results indicate that vitality decline among butt rot-affected Norway spruce is expressed as a significant reduction in radial increment and considerably greater levels of crown defoliation. Decayed Norway spruce trees were found to have higher crown defoliation than undecayed spruce trees. Additionally, a radial increment reduction in the last five years and the last twenty years of the increment sequence was found when decayed Norway spruce tree growth was compared to undecayed. Severely defoliated trees were observed only among decayed trees, and this made up only 1% of the population, indicating that butt rot acts as a predisposing or inciting factor for the decline of Norway spruce. A stand age-dependent relationship was also found among visually healthy undecayed spruce trees, indicating that spruce trees show signs of increasing defoliation as part of the ageing process. Among decayed Norway spruce, no such relationship was found, indicating changes in the effect-response framework for decayed trees. Naturally, both decayed and undecayed trees showed a negative correlation between the level of crown defoliation experienced and the radial increment for the last five years before increment sequencing.

Cost-effective method for the estimation of tree crown density in urban settings using a smartphone

Abstract Urban trees provide vital ecosystem services, and assessing their health is crucial for managing urban infrastructure. Traditional methods of assessing crown density, an indicator of tree vitality, involve horizontal perspectives of unobstructed canopies. This study presents a novel method for estimating crown density in urban street trees that are surrounded by obstructing objects like buildings. The approach is based on photographs of the tree crown from defined positions using a smartphone. The method was validated on eight small-leaved lime trees in Leipzig during the 2021 vegetation period, demonstrating that crown density can be estimated by analyzing smartphone-photographs from various perspectives. The method provides data to quantify crown development and can be used to compare the vitality status of individual trees. The different perspectives are consistent in their estimates of crown density throughout the annual plateau phase of crown development. During the initial greening phase, crown photographs taken from angularly oriented positions showed a higher slope value than those taken from other positions. The method can also estimate the effect of blue-green infrastructures on tree vitality compared to regular urban tree planting methods. The approach is a practical and cost-effective tool for assessing tree vitality in spatially confined urban areas.