Tutorial:

Geodatabase Developed for

i-Tree Eco Full Inventory

Acknowledgement
This project was supported by the Urban & Community Forestry Program of the U.S.
Forest Service, Department of Agriculture State & Private Forestry, Region 8 (Atlanta)
under cooperative agreement [14-CS-11330144-078] between Georgia Tech and the
USDA Forest Service (Urban Forestry South, Athens, Georgia)

Project Title
Data Model for GIS Database Management and i-Tree Eco

Project Period
8/15/2014 - 12/18/2015

Project Team
Rama Sivakumar (PI), Senior Research Engineer, Center for GIS, Georgia Tech
Ryan Bowman, Graduate Student
Manasvini Sethuraman, Graduate Student
1. Loading the feature class
This is a step by step instruction manual for establishing and using the iTree Eco geodatabase pro-
vided. The instructions will begin with transferring tree inventory data into the iTree Ece geoda-
tabase, will proceed to adding features into the feature class, and will review editing, copying and
validating attributes associated with trees in this inventory.

Appendix A contains a list of the field within the FullInventory feature classe’s Attribute Table,
which are the same as the field requirements for the i-Tree Eco software,

A second tutorial has been developed (i-Tree Eco Python Tools Tutorial) for using the python
tools developed for transferring data between this geodatabase and the i-Tree Eco software.

Loading the feature class: Adding Data to ArcMap

1--> Download the iTreeEco_DB folder and unzip onto
the C Drive.
1--> Open ESRI’s ArcMap software.
1--> In the Getting Started Window, click the New Maps
text on the left side of the window, indicating that
you want to start with a new empty map.
1--> Click on the Blank Map template icon, and click OK.
2--> Click the Add Data button.
2--> Click the Look in drop-down button to show available Figure 1.1 Sources of data
data folders (Fig. 1.1).
2--> Select Folder Connections.
2--> To add a connection, click the Connect to Folder a
button in the Add Data window.
2--> Navigate to the directory containing your
iTreeEco_DB folder and click once on the
iTreeEco_DB folder icon to select it (Fig. 1.2a).
(note: yours may be in a different location depending b
on where you extracted the iTreeEco_DB folder)

2--> Click OK to finish adding the connection.

Now that the connection is added, you are ready to start

adding data to your map.
3--> Click the Look in drop-down one more time to find
the connection you added. Click on it to open it.
3--> Double-click the Tutorial folder, then double click the
gray Tutorial_iTreeEco geodatabase icon to open it.

3--> Click the FullInventory_Blank feature class to high- Figure 1.2 a. Connection to fullinventory
Figure 1.2 b. Connecting to a folder
light it; then click Add to add it to the map.

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Loading the feature class: Adding features to feature class
Now that the feature class has been added to the map, it is possible to add point features to the
feature class that represent trees in the inventory. In order to do this, we must begin an editing
session through the Editor toolbar, and add individual features.

4--> From the main toolbar go to the Customize drop-down

menu > Toolbars > check Editor (Fig. 1.3).
(note: if Editor already checked, do not uncheck)

An editor toolbar should appear. You may drag this tool-

bar to reposition or dock with the rest of the toolbars.

5--> In the Editor toolbar, go to the Editor drop-down

menu and choose Start Editing (Fig. 1.4).
5--> In the Editor toolbar, go to the Editor drop-down
Figure 1.3 Editor Toolbar
menu > Editing Windows > Create Features.
Within the Create Features window, the top panel lists the
layers in the map document, while the bottom panel lists
the tools available to create features in the layers.
Figure 1.4 Start Editing

5--> In the Editor toolbar, go to the Editor drop-down

menu > Editing Windows > Attributes.

The Attributes window allows you to view and edit attri-

butes of features you have selected. a

Now that we have the basic editing tools activated in

ArcMap, we can start adding trees to the database.
b
6--> Click on the Blank Full Tree Inventory layer in the
Create Features tool (Fig 1.5a).
6--> In Construction Tools (bottom panel) of the Create
Features tool, click the Point symbol (Fig 1.5b).
6--> Click on the map where you would like the tree to be
located (anywhere is fine for the moment).
Figure 1.5a Selecting editable feature class
Figure 1.5b Adding Point features
We have our first tree! Now lets edit the attributes...

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2. Editing feature attributes

7--> Click the Attributes tab to see the newly created point’s
attributes.

User tip: you can see and edit the attributes of any feature
by highlighting the feature during an editing session.

7--> Double click on the 0 value in the Tree ID field, and re-
place it with 1 (Fig. 2.1).
(note: for iTree Eco’s analysis to run correctly, the Tree ID
value will need to be unique for each tree created)
7--> Click on the drop-down menu in the Tree Status field,
and select Planted.
7--> Click the Editor drop-down menu from the Editor tool-
bar and choose Save Edits.

User tip: Save often! Figure 2.1 Sources of data

Editing feature attributes: Validating Attributes

Now that the features have been edited and saved, we can validate the features based on presets
unique to this geodatabase. This validation step is important because the geodatabase has been
designed to feed directly into the iTree Eco model, as such certain fields have must meet predeter-
mined criteria for the iTree Eco model to run correctly. To learn more about domains established
for the iTree analysis go to Appendix A or iTree Eco’s User Manual.

8--> Click the Editor drop-down menu from

the Editor toolbar and click Validate
Features. The error message in Figure 2.2
should appear.
8--> Press OK. In the Create Features window.
open the Attributes tab and resize it, if Figure 2.2 Validation Error
necessary, to see the field values.
8--> Click in the space next to the
FieldLandUse field.

A coded value domain has has a drop-down list showing

the codes for that attribute (Fig 2.3). This prevents you from
entering values that would not be valid in the iTree Eco
software during data analysis.
8--> Since this database was developed for university
campuses, lets choose the Institutional class from
the drop-down menu.
Figure 2.3 Coded domains as
drop-down list

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Editing feature attributes: Validating Attributes (cont.)
8--> Go to the Edit drop-down menu again, and choose validate fea-
tures. The message show in Figure 2.4 should appear. Press OK.
Notice the point is no longer selected and the attributes do not appear in
the Attributes window.

8--> Go to the Edit drop-down menu and save your edits. Press OK. Figure 2.4
Validation approval
(note: you can save your edits at any time during an editing session,
and edits to all feature classes will be saved.)
9--> Using the edit tool from the toolbar menu, select the point again by
clicking on it or dragging a square around it.

Notice the attributes appear in the Attributes toolbox. The process of starting
an editing session, opening the Attribute toolbox, and selecting the feature(s)
that you want to edit can be repeated on existing feature(s) in the future.
10--> In the field “Species or genus code” type QU.
10--> In the field “Height of Measurement DBH was
taken” enter 4.5.
10--> In the field “Diameter at Breast Height” type 18.
(note: if surveying and there are multiple trunks,
e.g. crape myrtle, change Diameter at Breast
Height 2-6 for each trunk present)
10--> In the field “Height to top of tree” enter 25.
10--> In the field “Height to top of live crown”
enter 25.
10--> In the field “Height to base of crown” enter 8.
(note: “Height to top of live crown” and “Height
to base of crown” cannot exceed “Height to top
of tree” for iTree Eco’s analysis)
10--> In the field “Crown width (north-south)”
enter 30.
10--> In the field “Crown width (east-west)” enter 30.
10--> In the field “Percent of crown silhouette miss-
ing” enter 16.
10--> In the field “Percent of crown dieback” enter 10.
10--> Change “Crown light exposure”
to tree received full light from top and 3 sides.
10--> Change “Location of the tree (N or S)”
to street tree.
10--> In the field “comments”
enter this is a test tree.
10--> Make sure the Attributes window looks like
Figure 2.5, then go to the Editor drop-down
menu > Validate Features.
10--> Save your Edits. Figure 2.5 Entering attributes for test tree

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3. Understanding Domains
To better understand the domains required for the iTree Eco analysis, we
will now create a second tree with erroneous attribute data.

11--> Create a second tree by opening the Create Feature toolbox,

selecting Blank Full Tree Inventory as the feature template (top
panel) and point as the feature type (bottom panel).
11--> Click on the map to create your second tree, and open the Attributes tab to
examine the attributes for this newly created tree.
11--> Repeat step 10 to fill out the Attribute data for the new feature.
11--> However, make sure to set TreeID to 2, and in the field “Height of Mea-
surement DBH was taken” enter 45, as if we accidentally forgot to place
the decimal place.
11--> Click the Editor drop-down menu from the Editor toolbar and click Vali-
date Features. An error message should appear.
11--> Change the “Height of Measurement DBH was taken” to 4.5.
11--> Validate the features again, press okay to all features should are valid.
11--> Save your edits and stop the editing session.

This validation error demonstrates the usefulness of the domains estab-

lished for the geodatabase. If you have user errors while entering data, the
validation step will aid in early detection, and will be easy to fix.

12--> Now, navigate to the main menu, go to the Window

drop-down and click Catalog.
This catalog shows where the data a map uses is stored. Any
folder connections established will show up in this window;
data within these folders can be expanded upon for more
information.
Figure 3.1DBHHT Domain Properties
12--> Expand the Folder Connections in the Catalog window.
12--> Expand the iTreeEco_DB folder you connected to in step 2,
then expand the Tutorial folder.
12--> Right-click the Tutorial_iTreeEco.gdb and choose Properties.
12--> Click on the Domains tab, and examine the Domain Names
established for this geodatabase.

Notice there are two types of Domains established, some that have codes
and descriptions and other limit range of values able to be entered.

12--> Click the DBHHT Domain name (Fig. 3.1).

Notice the Domain type limits the range of acceptable values from -1 to 6.
This domain is set up within the geodatabase. To use this domain, we must
apply it to a field, which can then be verified.

Page: 6
 Understanding Domains (cont.)
13--> Close the database properties window.
13--> Expand the Tutorial_iTreeEco geodatabase.
13--> Right-click the FullInventory_Blank feature
class and choose Properties.
13--> Click on the Fields tab, and examine the Fields
contained within this features attribute table. Figure 3.2 DBHHT Field Properties

13--> Click on the DBHHT Field name (Fig. 3.2).

Notice the Domain applied to this Field is DBHHT. Therefore, the DBHHT
Domain limits the DBHHT Field’s values to -1 to 6. To see a full list of the
Domains established for each field, refer to the i-Tree Eco required fields in
Appendix A.

13--> Close the FullInventory_Blank properties window.

13--> Rick click the Blank Full Inventory layer and remove it from the
Table of Contents.
13--> Close the Create Features and Attributes windows.

We have explored the process of creating inventory feature classes with domains from scratch us-
ing the domains established. The next section with demonstrate how to copy features from anoth-
er inventory database into the feature class developed for i-Tree Eco.

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 4. Copying Data
The following section will describe the process of copying features from an existing inventory
shapefile to a feature class in the i-Tree Eco data model, which is compatible with the tools devel-
oped.

14--> In the Catalog menu, expand the Tutorial folder, and drag
the raw_treedb.shp into the Table of Contents.
14--> Right click on the newly added raw_treedb layer in the
Table of Contents, and choose Zoom to Layer.
14--> Right click on the raw_treedb layer in the Table of Con-
tents, and open the Attribute Table.
14--> Right click on the SPECIES field, and choose Properties.
14--> Notice that the Type is String, and the length of the field is
8 characters (Fig. 4.1).
14--> Press OK, and close the Attribute Table.
Figure 4.1 SPECIES Field Properties

Copying Data: Exporting from Shapefile to Feature Class

The first step in transferring your existing database to the
down- loaded geodatabase is to export the data from the
shapefile to the geodatabse.

15--> Right click on the raw_treedb layer in the Table of

Contents, and choose Data > Export data.
15--> In the Export Data window, click the open folder
symbol.
15--> Click in the drop-down field next to the Save as type:
at the bottom of the Saving Data window, choose
“File and Personal Geodatabase feature classes”.
Navigate to the folder where you downloaded the
15--> Tutorial, and double click on Tutorial_iTreeEco.gdb.
15--> Type raw_inventory in the field next to Name:,
then click Save. Figure 4.2 Exporting Shapefile to Feature Class
15--> Make sue your screen looks like Figure 4.2, then
choose OK in the Export Data window.
15--> Choose Yes to the add the exported data to the map.
16--> Right click on the newly added raw_inventory layer in the Table of Contents, and
open the Attribute Table.
16--> Right click on the SPECIES field, and choose Properties. Notice that the Name is
“SPECIES”, the Type is String, and the Length of the Field is 8 characters. Press OK.

The characteristics of all the Attribute Table’s fields remained constant when exporting the
data. This is useful information when you are transferring data.

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 Copying Data: Matching Attribute Table Fields
17--> Right click on the newly added raw_inventory layer in the Table of Contents, and open the
Attribute Table
17--> Right click on the SPECIES field, and choose Properties. Notice that the Name is
“SPECIES”, the Type is String, and the Length of the Field is 8 characters.
17--> Press OK, DON’T close the Attribute Table.

Notice that the field properties within the feature class is much more detailed. This is due to the
added capabilities that accompany the use of a geodatabase structure, ie allow NULL Values, De-
fault Value, and Domain. These added capabilities are the reason this data model is able to be vali-
dated, and the built in capabilities are very useful for data Quality Control / Quality Validation.

18--> Now add FullInventory_Copying feature class from

the Tutorial_iTreeEco.gdb to the Table of Contents.
18--> Right click on the Copying Full Tree Inventory layer
in the Table of Contents, and open the Attribute
Table. The table should appear in the same window
where the raw_inventory Attribute Table was, with
tabs at the bottom for navigation between the tables
(Fig. 4.3).

18--> Right click on the “Species or genus code” field, and

choose Properties. Notice the Name is “Species”
(different than alias!), the Type is String, and the Figure 4.3 Copying Full Tree Inventory Attribute Table
Length of the Field is 8 characters.
18--> Press OK.
Having the same field Name, Type, and Length is necessary for any attributes associated with a
feature to be copied from one feature class to another.

19--> While still in the Attribute Table window, go to

Table Options > Arrange Tables > New Horizontal Tab Group.
This enable both tables to be seen, and fields in both
attribute tables can be easily compared (Fig. 4.4).
19--> Examine the properties for the following fields in
both the Attribute Tables
(Copying Full Tree Inventory: raw_inventory)
• Crown width (north-south): CROWNWIDTH;
• Crown width (east-west): CROWNWID_1;
• Percent crown dieback: CROWNDIEBA;
• Percent of crown silhouette missing:
PERCENTCRO;
Figure 4.4 Examining Attribute Tables of
raw_inventory and Copying Full Tree Inventory

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Copying Data: Matching Attribute Table Fields (cont.)
The field names for these tables are not the same. This is due to the limited capabilities for shape-
files to store field names, which do not match that of the FullInventory_Copying feature class.
To make these field names match, we will need to add a new field to the raw_inventory layer that
is the same name, type, and length as the field in the FullInventory_Copying feature class.
To see the conventions for the field names in already set up in the FullInventory_Copying feature
class, refer to Appendix A.
20--> Close the Copying Full Tree Inventory Attribute
Table. If you close both attribute tables by accident,
reopen the raw_inventory Attribute Table.
20--> Go to Table Options > Add Field.
20--> In the Add Field Window, type FIELDLANDUSE in
the field next to Name:.
20--> Change the type to “Text”.
20--> Type 1 in the field next to Length.
Make sure the Add Field window looks like Figure
4.5, then press OK.
21--> Navigate to the new FIELDLANDUSE field.
Right click the field heading and choose
Field Calculator.
21--> The warning is letting you know that the changes
you make will be permanent. Press YES.
21--> In the Field Calculator window, scroll down in the
Figure 4.5 Adding Field to Attribute Table
Fields: list, and double click FIELDLANDU
(Fig. 4.6).
21--> Press OK.

This operation fill the FIELDLANDUSE field with the same

data as the FIELDLANDU field for every record.

22--> Compare some values between

FIELDLANDUSE and FIELDLANDU to ensure the
values are the same.
22--> Repeat the steps of adding a new field, naming it
correctly, setting the correct type, and calculating
the field based on the following table:

Figure 4.6 Field Calculator Window

Note that because the Types are not String, the Length of the field will not be an option to set.
If in the future you need to set a Text field, make sure you take note of the Length of the Field.

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Copying Data: Copying Features between Features Classes
Now that the raw_inventory feature class is in the same geodatabase as the Copying Full Tree In-
ventory feature class, and the fields of both feature classes match, we can seamlessly copy features,
i.e. tree records, from one feature class to another, with all the attributes attached.

23--> Go to Editor Toolbar > Editor > Start Editing.

23--> Select Copying Full Tree Inventory layer, (Fig. 4.6)
note: if you have previously removed the raw_
treedb layer, this option will not be available.

Notice that when this feature class is selected, all items in

that geodatabase are allowed to be edited. This is im-
portant for the feature class editing, and is why we creat-
ed a new feature class inside the existing geodatabase.
24--> Press continue
24--> Click and drag a box around the raw_inventory Figure 4.4 Selecting Feature Classes to Edit
layer, notice that anything in the box is selected.
24--> With the edit tool, select a portion of the trees in
the raw_inventory layer.
24--> Click the List by Selection icon at the top of the
Table of Contents.
24--> Click the Clear Layer Selection button in the
raw_treedb row to clear the raw_treedb selection,
moving it moves to the lower panel. Figure 4.7 Toggling Selectable Layers
24--> Click the Toggle Selectable button to make the
raw_treedb layer unselectable (Fig. 4.7).
24--> Also make the Copying Full Tree Inventory layer
unselectable.

This is done so that we can only copy features from the raw_in-
ventory feature class. Making the Copying Full Tree Inventory
layer unselectable is important so that we do not repeatedly copy
the same features from the final feature class when editing.
25--> Clear the raw_inventory selection.
25--> Click and drag a box around the South East block of
trees (Fig. 4.8). Figure 4.8 Selection of Tree Inventory
25--> In the Table of Contents, there should be around 260
trees selected in the raw_inventory row, and 0 trees
selected in the Copying Full Tree Inventory and raw_
treedb rows.
25--> Press ctrl+C to copy the selected features in the layer.
25--> Press ctrl+V to past the features you just copied. In the
Figure 4.9 Selecting Feature Class
25--> Paste Window, be sure to change the Target layer to to Paste Features in
paste the features into the Copying Full Tree Inventory
layer (Fig. 4.9), then press OK.

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Copying Data: Validating Copied Features
26--> Right click on the Copying Full Tree Inventory layer in the Table of Contents and open the
Attribute Table.
All of the features you just copied into this layer should still be highlighted, check the
number of records at the bottom of the screen, there should be the same number of re-
cords as were highlighted. Also examine the fields to make sure all fiattributes within the
fields were transferred.

26--> Close the Attribute Table.

26--> Go to the Editor toolbar and select Editor > Validate
Features

An error message should appear. Notice that the features

that have errors are still highlighted.
26--> Open the Attributes window by navigating to Editor
Toolbar > Editor drop-down menu > Editor Windows
> Attributes
Figure 4.10 Non-Valid Features

The list of features that are not valid are shown in the top pane (Fig. 4.10).

26--> For the Tree ID 265, change the Field Land Use field to “Institutional”.
26--> For the Tree ID 308, type 4.5 into the space next to DBHHT field.

In the future, it will be necessary to compare values for an erroneous tree with the field
domains established for the i-Tree Eco analysis, which are listed in Appendix A.
27--> Validate the features again, notice that the corrected features are
no longer highlighted.
27--> Go to Editor > save edits.
27--> Open the Copying Full Tree Inventory Attribute Table again.
27--> Go to the Table Options drop-down menu, and select Select All.
27--> Now go to the Editor toolbar > Editor drop-down > Validate
Features. The message in Figure 4.11 should appear, and no fea-
Figure 4.11 Validation
tures should be highlighted.
27--> Press OK, close the Attribute Table, then go to the Editor tool-
bar > Editor drop-down menu > Stop Editing.

We have successfully copied features from a shapefile with tree records into a feature class that
had the pre-set domains necessary to run i-Tree Eco.

This concludes the i-Tree Eco Geodatabase Tutorial. To fully maximize the potential of this data-
base, proceed to the i-Tree Eco Python Tools Tutorial to understand how to use the python tools
developed for data transfer between this geodatabase and i-Tree Eco software.

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 Tutorial:
Geodatabase Developed for
i-Tree Eco Full Inventory

APPENDIX A
Required attributes for i-Tree Eco:
Fields information for iTreeEco.gdb and MS Access database

Screens capture from i-Tree Eco manual

Field name MS Access field type Notes on data
Integer OR Long Data required. Must be >0
TreeID
(up to 9 characters) without duplication.

Date Date/Time Data required.

Crew Text (100 chars) Data optional.

Data optional. GPS coordinate

X Double
longitude.

Data optional. GPS coordinate

Y Double
latitude.

PhotoID Text (100 chars) Data optional.

TreeAddress Text (100 chars) Data optional.

Data required. Tree status,

STAT Text (1 char) must be P,I, U for initial
inventory. Can be N, P, I, U, R,
H, C, L for re-inventory.

Species Text (8 chars) Data required. Must be

species code or genus code.
Data required. Must be A, C,
FieldLandUse Text (1 char)
E, G, I, M, O, P, R, T, U, V, W.

Data required. Must be -1 for

DBHHT Single OR Double a removed tree. Otherwise,
must be between 0.1 and 6.

Data required. Must be -1 for

DBH1 Single OR Double a removed tree. Otherwise,
must be between 0.5 and 200.

Data optional. Must be -1 for

DBH2 Single OR Double a removed tree. Otherwise,
must be between 0.5 and 200.

Data optional. Must be -1 for

DBH3 Single OR Double a removed tree. Otherwise,
must be between 0.5 and 200.

95 Page: 14
Field name MS Access field type Notes on data
Data optional. Must be -1 for
DBH4 Single OR Double a removed tree. Otherwise,
must be between 0.5 and 200.

Data optional. Must be -1 for

DBH5 Single OR Double a removed tree. Otherwise,
must be between 0.5 and 200.

Data optional. Must be -1 for

DBH6 Single OR Double a removed tree. Otherwise,
must be between 0.5 and 200.

Data required. Height to top of

tree. Must be -1 for a removed
TOTHT Single OR Double
tree, otherwise must be
between 0 and 450.

Data required. Height to top

of live crown. Must be -1 for
LiveTop Single OR Double a removed tree, otherwise
must be less than TOTHT and
between 0 and 450.

Data required. Height to base

of crown. Must be -1 for a
CrownBase Single OR Double removed tree, otherwise must
be less than LiveTop and
between 0 and 450.

Data required. Crown width

(north-south). Must be -1 for a
CrownWidthNS Single OR Double
removed tree, otherwise must
be between 0 and 300.

Data required. Crown width

CrownWidthEW Single OR Double (east-west). Must be -1 for a
removed tree, otherwise must
be between 0 and 300.

Data optional. Direction to

D1 building. Must be -1 when no
Integer, Single
building is present or between
OR Double
1 and 360.

15

96
Field name MS Access field type Notes on data
Data required. Percent of
crown silhouette missing.
PercentCrownMissing Integer OR Long Must be -1 for a removed tree,
otherwise must be between 0
and 100.

Data required. Percent crown

dieback. Must be -1 for a
CrownDieback Integer OR Long
removed tree, otherwise must
be between 0 and 100.

Data required. Crown light

CLE Integer OR Long exposure. Must be -1, 0, 1, 2,
3, 4, 5.
Data required. Location of the
TreeSite Text (1 char)
tree. Must be N or S.

Comments Text (255 chars) Data optional.

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