The tree inventory: survey to manage better

You can only manage well what you know. A town's tree stock often runs to thousands of specimens, along avenues, in parks, cemeteries and schoolyards, without anyone holding a precise list. The tree inventory is the foundation of all management: without it, upkeep is done piecemeal and the value of this asset stays invisible.

Why survey your trees

An inventory answers concrete needs: scheduling pruning, tracking health condition, anticipating renewals, valuing the stock and demonstrating greening efforts. It also serves public policies, from canopy plans to climate adaptation, all of which require knowing what you are talking about, tree by tree.

The data to record

• species and variety, essential to anticipate how the tree behaves;
• dimensions: girth, height, crown diameter;
• development stage and health condition;
• context: soil, constraints, target, type of planting;
• past and planned interventions.

A geolocated inventory

Locating each tree changes everything. The map lets you find a specific specimen, organise upkeep rounds by sector, spot concentrations of a species vulnerable to a pest, and picture the territory's tree cover. An inventory in a spreadsheet, with no reliable location, loses most of that value.

Valuing the stock

A tree has a value, ecological and financial. Rating scales make it possible to quantify from species, dimensions and condition. This valuation helps raise awareness, weigh up a development project, and obtain compensation when a tree is damaged on a worksite. The inventory provides the data that makes the calculation possible.

From survey to management plan

The inventory is not an end in itself: it feeds a management plan that schedules interventions, ranks urgencies and plans the renewal of ageing specimens. It is this plan, fed by up-to-date data, that turns reactive management into anticipated management, spread over time and budgeted.

A living asset

A tree grows, ages, is planted or felled. A frozen inventory dates quickly. The real value comes from a living inventory, updated as interventions and planting go, reflecting the actual state of the asset at any moment rather than a dated snapshot.

Support for canopy and climate

Trees are a major lever for adapting cities to heat. Canopy policies, which aim to increase tree cover, require knowing what exists in order to set targets and measure progress. A precise inventory tracks how the stock evolves, planting and felling included, and reports on greening efforts with figures rather than intentions.

Involving residents

Trees are a common good that residents are attached to. Giving them sight of the inventory, or even involving them in reporting an ailing tree or a problem, enriches the data while building connection. A tree stock map becomes a basis for dialogue during a development project, when everyone can see what is preserved, planted or replaced.

Mapping your tree stock with KARTES

KARTES lets you survey each tree on a map, with its characteristics, condition and history. The survey is done in the field, even without a signal, and builds a lasting inventory. You organise your rounds, track health condition, plan renewals and have exportable data for your management plans and reports. The inventory becomes a steering tool rather than a file that sits idle.

Key points

• The inventory is the foundation of all tree management.
• Record the species, dimensions, condition and context of each tree.
• Geolocation multiplies the value of the inventory.
• A living inventory feeds an anticipated management plan.