| Background |
| The idea behind The Mobile Community Tree Inventory
(MCTI) system was to design a tree inventory software application
that could be distributed to arborists, tree managers, city
foresters and consultants at no cost via the internet, and have
it packaged as a stand alone program, requiring the purchase
of no additional computer software |
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| Three Components of
MCTI |
The MCTI system is comprised of three components,
with each component building on the foundation of the previous
level. The three levels include the following:
1. Paper tally sheet template
2. Computerized desktop inventory program
3. PDA data collection program
A firm, organization or municipality needs to identify the level
of MCTI capability they feel is appropriate for their needs
and begin working with that MCTI component. Some organizations
may have previous inventory experience and feel comfortable
starting with the third level of the MCTI process; other organizations
may want to start at the first step.
THE TOOLS
Paper Tally Sheet Template - This
tally sheet provides the simplest least technical tool for recording
information on trees that are inventoried. It is a simple paper
form that is based on an Excel spreadsheet. The Excel spreadsheet
can be obtained by clicking on Paper
Tally Sheet Template on the Download section of this page.
MCTI Desktop Inventory Software Application - This component
in the MCTI system is a computer-based software application.
This software resides on your computer much the same way a word
processor or e-mail application does. The software uses has
an easy to use screen to enter the data and a database to store
information. The data can be entered from the paper-based forms
or by using a PDA. Trees in the MCTI database system can easily
be searched or modified with just a few mouse clicks, instead
of searching a file cabinet. The MCTI system comes with a summary
report that produces over two dozen useful statistics. Download
it by clicking on
MCTI Inventory Software Application in the Download section
of this page.
MCTI PDA Data Collection Software Package
The most efficient and cost effective way to collect and analyze
tree inventory data is to use the complete MCTI package. The
package includes the desktop software and the data collection
software designed for the Palm OS PDA. The PDA data collection
software is free and simple to use. Your organization will need
to provide a PDA with minimum memory (2MB) and a personal computer.
Once the desktop and PDA software has been downloaded and configured,
they are ready for use. Downlaod it by clicking the appropriate
version of the MCTI Install.PRC Application in the Download
section of this page. Note that there are different versions
of the .PRC files for the 3.0-4.x and the 5.0-5.x versions of
the Palm Operating System. Download the file appropriate to
your particular Palm PDA model and operating system. |
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