Description: <div style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color:rgb(34, 34, 34); font-size:small;">This forest patch layer was created by Dr. Matthew Baker, UMBC; Dr. Michael Alonzo, American University, and Dr. Nancy Sonti, USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station using a high-resolution urban tree canopy map derived from 2019 orthoimagery and LiDAR data. To identify forest area, tree canopy over impervious surfaces was first subtracted from the canopy layer, including buildings and roads identified from planimetric data available from the District of Columbia. Morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA; Vogt et al. 2007) was then used to distinguish forest patches from remaining tree canopy using an edge parameter of 15 m based on observed changes in vegetation composition and structure (Baker, unpublished data). MSPA applies the edge parameter to distinguish interiors (i.e. ‘cores’) from surrounding edges, as well as five other morphometric primitives (i.e. branches, bridges, loops, and islets) that reflect how canopy is or is not connected to cores. Patches always include core areas and their surrounding edges, as well as any perforations. Patches are separated into two size classes: Forested Natural Areas are patches with greater core area and thickness than Groves. More detail on methods and analysis can be found in:<font color="#222222" size="2" style="font-family:inherit;"> Alonzo, M., Baker, M. E., Gao, Y., & Shandas, V. (2021). Spatial configuration and time of day impact the magnitude of urban tree canopy cooling. Environmental Research Letters, 16(8), 084028.</font></div><div style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color:rgb(34, 34, 34); font-size:small;">Vogt P, Riitters K H, Estreguil C, Kozak J, Wade T G and Wickham J D 2007 Mapping spatial patterns with morphological image processing Landsc. Ecol. 22 171–7. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-006-9013-2" style="color:rgb(0, 121, 193); text-decoration-line:none; font-family:"Avenir Next", Avenir, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size:15px;" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-006-9013-2</a></div>
Copyright Text: Alonzo, M., Baker, M. E., Gao, Y., & Shandas, V. (2021). Spatial configuration and time of day impact the magnitude of urban tree canopy cooling. Environmental Research Letters, 16(8), 084028.
Vogt P, Riitters K H, Estreguil C, Kozak J, Wade T G and Wickham J D 2007 Mapping spatial patterns with morphological image processing Landsc. Ecol. 22 171–7. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-006-9013-2