The city of Midland is the first in the state to use AI to inventory their tree canopy.

Midland partnered with the Davey Tree company and used special software to assess more than 30,000 urban trees.

Midland’s Director of Parks and Recreation Marcie Post says the TreeKeeper system uses a type of 3D scanning technology that is integrated with AI. 

“And what we do with this system is it helps us track where our trees are, species, health, basically everything we need to know about our trees. So that if something were to happen let’s say if we were to get a pest we have an  idea of where that pest is, what trees it may affect, and so on and so forth.”

She says the city is dedicated to the health of its trees.

“We know what value trees bring both in aesthetic appeal but also financially we know the value of a tree so we’re just really excited to be able to show our residents how important we think it is and really to continue education on trees and the importance of trees in our environment.”

Post says the software detects information about the species, circumference and health of each tree, giving the city a baseline for management. Midland’s trees have suffered from pests like the Emerald Ash Borer and this software can find gaps in the tree canopy that need to be filled. 

The city’s trees were scanned last summer and data analysis will begin this summer.

This story is a part of WDET’s ongoing series, the Detroit Tree Canopy Project.

Researchers say the composition of Michigan’s forests may change in the future.

For the past 28 years, scientists from Michigan State University have taken a census of seedlings from 10 species in the Manistee National Forest.

Bailey McNichols is a postdoctoral scholar at MSU. She says their annual seedling census tracks responses to change.

“Forests are likely to exist in this location and they are likely to be resilient to the changing climate but we might just see a transition in the composition of these forests.”

McNichols says researchers predict Michigan’s growing season will become warmer and wetter, changing which species of trees will thrive in the state.

“And if those are the conditions which are predicted to exist in the future then it’s likely that we’re going to see more of five different of the ten species which were more Red Maples, more Ironwood, more Black Cherry, and more Red Oak and White Oak.”

McNichols says in contrast, Sugar Maple, Basswood and White Ash are among the species expected to decline.

This story is a part of WDET’s ongoing series, the Detroit Tree Canopy Project.

Researchers are using digital technology to improve forest management strategies.

Michigan State University scientists have employed a 3-D mapping technology called LIDAR—which stands for light detection and ranging—to make a digital model of a pine plantation.

Dave Carter is an assistant professor of Silviculture at MSU. He says LIDAR can survey areas faster than foresters.

“In terms of area, that person may only cover like 1% to 5% of the total stand, whereas a LIDAR measurement would conceivably cover like the whole stand aerially, and maybe accurately count and measure 90% to 95% of the trees in some cases.”

After LIDAR scans are uploaded, an AI model simulates different management strategies and finds the most effective ways to remove or apply treatments to trees, or even predict the effects of tree thinning.

“And we were just trying to demonstrate that that workflow was possible, where you could take that simulated thinning, pass it off to a model, have it project what the future yield would be as a result of your thinning, and then do that a number of times and figure out which method is best.”

Carter says AI can be faster and more precise than traditional methods of thinning, saving time and money. He says this technology could eventually be used by tree farmers as well as conservationists

This story is a part of WDET’s ongoing series, the Detroit Tree Canopy Project.

Keweenaw County will become home to Michigan’s first public forest authority. 

The Nature Conservancy purchased 32,000 acres of forest land in Keweenaw County in 2022. Recently, county commissioners voted to create a local board to manage 20,000 acres of land in partnership with the conservancy. 

Robin Meneguzzo is the CEO of the Keweenaw Community Foundation. She says residents have four goals for forest management. “One is to protect the cultural and historical features of the land. One is to keep it a working, healthy, and intact forest, the third was to maintain government revenues, and the fourth was to maintain public access.” 

Newly expanded legislation opened the door for the forest authority by allowing small rural communities in Michigan to manage their own forest resources.

Meneguzzo says the project is uniting members of the community. “This is a really amazing example of a community coming together that has very different views on how land should be used or managed.” She says 29 different groups worked together for around 4 years to complete the project.

Meneguzzo says the forest covers around 15% of Keweenaw County’s footprint and is used for hunting, fishing, foraging, and hiking. 

Voters can choose forest authority board members in the November general election.

This story is a part of WDET’s ongoing series, the Detroit Tree Canopy Project.