Urban forestry

Our professionals are available to estimate the monetary value of trees in various situations:

• Establish financial compensation for damage caused
• Identify the forestry or ornamental value of urban trees
• Analyze costs and benefits to justify the maintenance or conservation of trees or of an urban woodland
• Assess the value of urban trees in the context of expropriation

The monetary evaluation of trees can be used to support the argumentation or justification of a decision.

This process enables you to obtain a realistic monetary representation and directly compare the benefits of trees in terms of enhancing a property's land value.

This analysis can also be used to develop a planning tool for tree maintenance work.

The inventories conducted report on all the features that can be useful when making decisions.

The databases created include, among others, the following parameters:

• Unique location number
• Location with sub-meter accuracy
• Species identification
• Diameter at breast height (DBH)
• Structural problems
• Phytosanitary problems (trunk, branches and foliage)
• Overall health assessment
• Interferences and physical constraints around the tree
• Life expectancy
• Prescription of arboricultural work according to BNQ standard 0605-200/2020
• Prioritization of work over time
• Etc.

For wooded areas, additional parameters can be considered:

• Ecoforest stand delineation (GPS polygon survey)
• Determination of percentage cover of tree, shrub and herb strata
• Creation of a list of dominant species for each stratum
• General characterization of stand or species group health
• Problems caused by insect pests and diseases
• Woodland management plan and recommendations
• Photographic register

As a biological and ecological habitat, the urban forest reduces the effect of urban heat islands while contributing to the passive cooling of buildings by providing protection from the sun, significantly lowering ambient air temperature, reducing air pollution, and providing public health benefits for the community.

An arboricultural intervention program is an important part of an urban tree management plan. It defines regular maintenance cycles for street and landscaped trees, as well as intervention needs in wooded areas.

The main maintenance and preventive work that can be included in an arboricultural intervention program includes: felling, pruning, formation pruning (young trees), bracing, phytosanitary monitoring, replacement of urban trees, management of invasive alien species (IAS), and so on.

It is used to estimate the work budget according to maintenance cycles, as well as the resources required to carry it out, and to draw up an implementation schedule.

We have expertise in the protection of urban trees during construction, including the drafting of technical clauses relating to plant protection measures to be included in construction drawings and specifications, as well as supervision by a forestry engineer during the construction phase. Our teams are able to:

• Determine the conservation value of trees in the preliminary design phase to support the decision-making process
• Produce a tree conservation plan
• Assess the impact of construction work on trees during project implementation
• Determine appropriate mitigation and maintenance measures for tree preservation during construction
• Monitor construction work, including the application of tree protection measures
• Follow up on post-construction tree care (fertilization, pruning, etc.)

Protective measures to be applied during the work phase may include:

• Installation of protective fencing around trees
• Trunk protection
• Soil protection against compaction
• Application of root-clearing techniques during excavation work
• Pruning low-hanging branches in work areas
• Post-work maintenance (decompaction, fertilization, pruning, etc.).

We offer services for phytosanitary assessment and treatment of trees against insect pests and diseases. Our teams can:

• Diagnose, evaluate and monitor the phytosanitary condition of trees
• Evaluate problems related to insect pests and diseases in urban trees
• Develop plans for the prevention, detection and control of diseases and insect pests (emerald ash borer, Dutch elm disease, etc.)

Following an assessment of the trees and an inventory of the area under study, recommendations are made for the implementation of an urban canopy renewal plan, taking into account the priorities for intervention. Some urban trees may require immediate work, depending on their state of health and structural condition. For others, work should be planned over time.

Lastly, the different strategies and approaches to intervention in the renewal plan will need to be defined according to the real picture of the urban canopy, and the resources required to carry them out. These may include planting, felling, pruning, formation pruning (young trees), bracing, insect treatment and phytosanitary monitoring of trees.

Remote sensing enables us to characterize forest ecosystems on a large scale.

Thanks to our state-of-the-art equipment, we can conduct forest inventories and map vegetation cover quickly, accurately and reliably.