Help boost tree establishment data
There's strength in numbers...
An important part of looking after trees is monitoring their health. In their early years, trees can be vulnerable to damage by deer, pests and diseases, drought, vandalism and other threats; without checking on them, we don’t know how they are faring or whether they need additional care. ‘Monitoring’ may be an unglamorous concept, yet it has become the focus of a research project led by The Tree Council, Fera Science and Forest Research. If you’ve ever peered inside a plastic tube to see if the tree inside is still alive, read on to see how you can help!
From an evidence gap to a brand-new app
In 2023, discussions with local authorities highlighted their struggles around data availability; with tree planting targets to meet, they reported difficulties in tracking the numbers of trees planted within their area and their survival rates over time. This made it hard to fully demonstrate progress. Every tree counts when you’re trying to deliver against an ambitious target, so it is understandable that those local authorities wanted to know how many and what type of trees were being planted by different organisations.
This data gap had us intrigued and we started mulling it over: who is collecting data, how are they doing it and who do they share the data with? What are the opportunities for making this more useful? What could we all learn if we could combine data from different sites, organisations and regions?
To explore this further, we delved into the existing literature and interviewed a range of organisations involved in tree planting including local authorities, community groups, contractors and charities. Broadly, we found that many organisations do some form of monitoring, but there is a mix of systematic and ad-hoc approaches. Often, it involves a relatively simple count of surviving or dead trees, with little information collected to identify the factors driving success or failure. Even less information is shared, collated and analysed at a broader level, though encouragingly we found there was enthusiasm for this.
It felt like a golden opportunity. Maybe we could encourage more systematic, nuanced and consistent monitoring – and use the resulting information to drive improvements in how we plant and care for young trees.
A day in the field
Fast-forward to a sunny morning in July 2024 and I was standing in a field in Wiltshire watching colleagues test out an early version of a data collection app that we called the ‘Tree Establishment Tracker’. The app requires users to input information about a site and planting scheme, and then to inspect and assess individual trees systematically. This involves rating trees on a scale from 1 (Excellent) to 4 (Dead), and recording any visual signs or symptoms affecting their condition and health. The app was designed to streamline this process, recognising that monitoring needs to be time efficient. On that day in the field, our colleagues tested it to it to destruction, looking to find flaws and suggest improvements.
They crouched among tall grasses to inspect trees and record data in the app. They gave us valuable feedback and ideas, for example about how it might need to be adapted for trees in hedgerows or woodlands. We ended the day with reams of notes, but new confidence that we were going in the right direction.
Thirty organisations put it to the test
After making improvements, the next step was to test the monitoring protocol and app in a greater range of contexts – from urban street trees to hedgerows, woodlands and orchards. To that end, over thirty organisations volunteered to join a field trial in September 2024. After attending a training session, our volunteers headed out with their smartphones to inspect their trees. Using our process, they collectively assessed more than 1200 trees at around 40 different sites in the UK. We were excited to hear their feedback, which we gathered through an online survey and interviews.
Pleasingly, 79% said they were likely to use the new approach again to monitor their trees and the vast majority reported that they’d learnt something new from the process. One participant said, “I was impressed at how quickly a picture can be built up with systematic monitoring” and another that it was “Really useful to assess the trees in this way and consider why they are not all growing in an 'excellent' way”. However, parts of the process didn’t work well for everyone, and we received constructive feedback from many participants, which will improve the next version of the app.
Learning and working together
When it comes to data, there really is strength in numbers. The quantity – and just as importantly, the quality – of data generated from our initial trial shows real promise. If the process is rolled out to even more sites, we believe that it could improve our collective understanding of tree establishment and how to optimise outcomes. We hope to be able to start investigating the influence of species choice, soil types, climatic factors, planting techniques, maintenance and more.
When we began this project, we expected that it might be a sensitive subject. Poor survival rates are disappointing and can make headlines that cause reputational damage. However, we’ve had a really positive response! It’s in all our interests to ensure we have robust data and evidence to underpin our practice, not least because climate change is altering the conditions that young trees face, pushing us into uncertain territory. Better monitoring can help us adapt to new challenges. The key is to keep learning – and we can learn more by working together.
Join the journey
This summer (July-Sept 2025), we will enter a new phase of this research, which will involve data being collected from a larger number of planting sites. To achieve this, we are looking for many more participants to use our monitoring protocol and app to gather data at their sites. If you are a conservation organisation, local authority, community group, farmer, park manager, volunteer or a contractor and may be able to help – we want to hear from you!
Please visit our website for more info and use our expression of interest form if you are interested in getting involved. Our team will then be in touch about the next steps. Thank you!
Jess Allan is The Tree Council’s Science and Research Action Manager
MORE: Free or subsidised trees? Early indications from our research trials...
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