TreeAM is ideal for special vegetation management projects that involve one or more of the following: the collection and periodic updates of large data sets whose requirements may change over time, the application of complex analysis or modeling to this data set, the participation of many stakeholders, scheduling and tracking a wide range of activities, and the systematic monitoring of overall project outcomes.

Paper forms, Excel, and emails are grossly inadequate for such projects. Custom GIS solutions are prohibitively expensive to develop and maintain. TreeAM is the only viable solution.

Case Study

A public power utility that ranks among the top five in the US sponsors a large-scale shade tree program as part of its energy conservation initiative. Almost 250,000 trees have been planted over the life of the program by various non-profit organizations and city departments. EcoLayers, Inc., the developer of TreeAM, is developing a comprehensive software platform for this program that will allow 16 stakeholders and the utility’s large consumer base to work and interact with each other completely online. Key capabilities of this system include:

  • A public-facing consumer registration system for ordering residential and street trees.
  • Guiding consumer for registering with the program, selecting trees, drawing the boundary of the building shaded by the trees, and planting locations for up to 7 trees on the consumer’s property using Google Map so as to optimize energy savings for summer cooling.
  • Fulfillment (delivery) of consumers’ tree orders by partner organizations
  • Online consumer engagement
  • Data normalization, standardization, and forecasting energy savings and carbon sequestered for historical and new tree inventories

Energy savings and CO2 sequestered are calculated using three inter-dependent models, developed by the US Forest Service, that run within the TreeAM software environment. The tree growth model “grows” the tree each year based on species, planting date (or DBH or crown diameter), and climate region. The biomass model calculates CO2 sequestered for each year of tree growth. Energy savings are calculated on an hourly basis for the year based on the energy required to cool the building without trees and with trees. The energy model incorporates tree shade effects on the building based on consumer defined building boundary, species, size and the exact location of the tree relative to the building.