2022 – Present
In 2022, the UTA began the Forest Patches Project, a multi-city urban forest analysis that focuses on contiguously forested lands within Madison and Middleton, WI. Urban forest patches haven been defined as places where forest vegetation is spontaneously regenerating in urbanized regions. The patches may be unmanaged or deliberately managed to maintain forest cover.
Across the project area, comprehensive LIDAR-based mapping will identify the locations, ownership, and sizes of forested lands that are a minimum of 3 acres. Of these forested lands, 5 separate properties will be inventoried for individual tree data. The properties are separately owned by the Madison School District, Wisconsin Co-operative Housing Association, the City of Middleton Park Department, and the City of Madison Departments of Parks and Engineering. Data gathered on these properties will provide new insight in to species diversity and succession trends. The composite will be further analyzed with I-Tree Eco, and urban forestry software, to model the tree’s eco-benefits, such as carbon capture.