有关树木大小的城市森林的准确信息,健康状态,社区结构,非洲城市的空间分布仍然有限。使用我们团队开发的基于Google街景(GSV)的树木大小测量方法,本文旨在利用GSV数据评估四个非洲大都市的行道树。该研究汇编了一个大型数据集,其中包含坎帕拉3454个地点的46,016棵街道树,内罗毕,布隆方丹,约翰内斯堡。数据包括树木大小(胸高直径,DBH;树高,TH;分支下高度,UBH;雨棚尺寸),树木区系组成(顶端优势类型,阔叶-针叶树-棕榈叶,开花与否),树木健康(叶色,死回,死树,和支架支持百分比),街道开发(车道号,路边商店,停放车辆,和行人密度),和地理位置(纬度,经度)。这些数据可以在ArcGIS的帮助下进行空间可视化,和大数据集有利于可靠的地图从街景水平。数据统计显示,四个城市以阔叶为主,顶端优势,和开花的树木,不健康的叶子含量低,死亡的比例很小。乔木-灌木-草本结构植被主导了所有四个城市。坎帕拉树最细长(DBH=23厘米,TH=8.4m),而内罗毕和约翰内斯堡的树木最厚(DBH=38厘米,TH=8.5-8.6m)。布隆方丹的裸地率最低,为23%,内罗毕的裸地率最高,为33%。主要分析和Pearson相关性表明,这些树木的变化与街道发展和当地土地利用配置密切相关。通过比较世界其他地区的城市树木数据,我们发现非洲城市的树木通常是巨大的,但密度较低(100米街道段内的树木)。我们的研究结果强调,GSV数据对于非洲的城市森林监测足够可行,该数据库有助于城市景观规划和管理。
Accurate information on urban forests of tree sizes, health state, community structures, and spatial distribution is still limited in African cities. Using a Google Street View (GSV)-based tree-size measuring method developed by our team, this paper aims to evaluate street trees of four African metropolitan cities using GSV data. The study compiled a large dataset with 46,016 street trees in 3454 sites in Kampala, Nairobi, Bloemfontein, and Johannesburg. The data including tree size (diameter at breast height, DBH; tree height, TH; underbranch height, UBH; canopy size), tree floristic composition (apical dominance types, broadleaf-conifer-palm leaf, flowering or not), tree health (leaf color, diebacks, dead tree, and bracket-supporting percent), streetside development (lane number, roadside shops, parking vehicle, and pedestrian density), and geolocation (latitude, longitude). These data can be spatially visualized with the help of ArcGIS, and the large dataset favors reliable maps from the street-view level. Data statistics showed that four cities were dominated by broad-leaved, apical dominance, and flowering trees, with a low level of unhealthy leaves and a tiny percentage of dead. The arbor-shrubs-herb structure vegetation dominated all four cities. Kampala had the most slender trees (DBH = 23 cm, TH = 8.4 m), while Nairobi and Johannesburg had the thickest trees (DBH = 38 cm, TH = 8.5-8.6 m). Bare land rates were lowest at 23% in Bloemfontein and highest at 33% in Nairobi. Principal analysis and Pearson correlations showed that these tree variations were closely associated with street development and local land use configuration. By comparing the urban tree data in other regions of the world, we found that the trees in African cities are generally giant but have a lower density (the trees within a 100-m street segment). Our findings emphasized that GSV data is feasible enough for urban forest monitoring in Africa, and the database is helpful for urban landscape planning and management.