What is Urban Forestry?

rban forestry is the sustained planting, protection, maintenance and care of trees, forests, greenspace and related resources in and around cities and communities for economic, environmental, social and public health benefits (Blouin and Comeau, 1993).

The urban forest benefits us and our environment in many ways, for example by:

• Improving air quality
• Reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) – a key factor for mitigating climate change
• Producing oxygen
• Conserving energy by reduce heating and cooling costs
• Providing habitat for wildlife
• Managing storm water by holding water in its canopy
• Reducing pollution
• Reducing soil erosion
• Enhancing quality of life
• Contributing to personal and psychological health
• Increasing property value
• Improving privacy

Urban Forestry Consulting

IFS Associates provides a full line of urban forestry consultation services to residential, commercial and government clients. Services offered include:

• Tree inventories and assessments
• Tree surveys for liability purposes
• Assessment of treescapes
• Park and recreation site layout
• Soil testing (for macro/micro nutrients, pH, texture, etc.)
• Disease and insect diagnostic services
• Tree valuation as per International Society of Arboriculture Standards
• Species/Site compatibility
• Construction zone tree protection
• Tree preservation and conservation planning for major urban projects
• Report preparation, assessment and advice.
• Expert witness services for legal proceedings.
• Hazard evaluations (including the use of a Resistograph Decay Detector)

All of our consultations are undertaken by a Registered Professional Forester (B.Sc.F.) with the assistance of forestry technicians when required.

Forest Management Consulting

ntegrated forest management – the management of forests taking into consideration multiple objectives such as wildlife, recreation and urban development – leads to healthier forests and a better balanced forest ecosystem.  A properly researched and designed forest management plan documents the “why”, “what”, “when”, “where” and “how” of forest management. It includes the owner’s goals and objectives, a map detailing the inventory of the forest and its components, a prescription of the silvicultural systems to be used in establishing or improving each stand, a schedule of forest operations and a time line as to when each of the owner’s goals will be achieved. A complete plan will also provide advice on how to monitor the results of management activities.

IFS Associates has experience in providing forestry consulting services across Canada and internationally.

 

We offer the following forest management consulting services:

• Forest management plan preparation
• Forest management plan approval under the Managed Forest Tax Incentive Program
• Agreement forest plans and transition plans
• Forest inventory
• Operational harvest and silvicultural plan development
• Standing timber valuation
• Market studies
• Interpretative trail development
• Forest health evaluation and amelioration
• Program and/or project evaluation
• Aerial photo interpretation and mapping
• Ecological and shoreline restoration plans
• Tree and forest management on historic and nationally important sites
• Tree and forest conservation planning
• Reforestation auditing

Please see some of our Projects for further information on the nature and scope of our work.