Feasible, correct, and useful measurements of urban trees are essential for both research and management, including accurate quantification of urban tree benefits and long-term monitoring. However, the standard forestry measurement of trees—diameter at breast height (DBH), taken at 4.5 ft. (1.37 m)—was developed for very different applications (e.g., timber valuation) and may be unsuited to the specific needs of municipal arborists and researchers, particularly with regard to multi-stemmed trees. We took intensive measurements on 569 trees of three genera (335 multi-stemmed) in Philadelphia and surveyed 25 urban forestry practitioners in 12 cities in the eastern U.S. on the management and measurement of multi-stemmed street trees, to determine which methods for measuring multi-stemmed trees were best suited to the goals of urban forestry researchers and practitioners. Research is ongoing, but preliminary results suggest that researchers and practitioners may be able to simplify existing protocols—thus saving time and reducing the capacity for confusion and error—without losing valuable biometric information.

Watch a 15-minute presentation of the research.