green Intermediate Featured
i-Tree Tools
Quantify the ecosystem services and environmental benefits of urban forests
Addresses
Green Infrastructure
- Cost
- Free · Open-source
- Open-Source
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Language
- —
- Updated
- 2024
You provide
- Tree inventory or sample plots
- Species and diameter (DBH)
- Location / climate zone
- Land cover data
You get
- Carbon storage & sequestration
- Air pollution removal
- Stormwater interception
- Ecosystem service dollar value
Overview
i-Tree is a free, peer-reviewed software suite from the USDA Forest Service that quantifies the structure, environmental benefits, and value of urban and community forests. Cities use it to make the economic case for tree planting and maintenance budgets.
Key features
- Urban forest inventory and analysis (i-Tree Eco)
- Carbon sequestration and storage calculations
- Air quality improvement and pollution-removal estimates
- Stormwater runoff interception and ecosystem-service valuation
Who it’s for
Urban foresters, parks departments, and researchers who need defensible numbers to justify green-infrastructure investment.
Getting started
Download the desktop tools or use the web-based i-Tree applications — most require only a basic tree inventory to produce a first benefits report.