Tree observation

Pre-release. This site describes standard version 0.7.0-dev, which is in development and may change before version 1.0.0.

A state claim about one tree individual at one moment (ADR-0005): its subject is a tree state, it records when it was made and the offset in days from the tree’s planting date, and it carries at least one geotagged photograph. The unit indicators are computed from.

Kind of: StateClaim

Properties

Property Required Repeatable Value Message
has evidence yes yes Evidence item Every tree observation carries at least one geotagged photograph.
hasSubject yes no Tree state An observation claims exactly one tree state (ADR-0005).
observed at yes no dateTime An observation carries the moment it was made.
observed tree yes no Tree individual An observation is about exactly one tree individual.
offset from anchor (days) yes no integer An observation records its offset in days from the tree’s planting date, written by the offset operation, never asked (ADR-0023).

Rules

  • A recorded offset must be positive: observations come after planting.
  • An observation must be made after the tree’s planting date.
  • An observation of a tree with no planting date must be made after its consignment’s delivery date, the anchor of a delivered-only tree’s horizons (ADR-0010).
  • An observed tree must have a planting record or come from a consignment; there are no phantom trees (ADR-0003).
  • Instance data must not use the standard’s namespace https://nova.org.za/ncgs/ (ADR-0002: instances are urn:uuid: IRIs).
  • The claimed tree state must be a state of the observed tree.

Checked by

Tree state

What was true of a tree individual at one visit: alive, condition class, mulch cover, hole state, soil moisture, stem paint, watering, care, pests, cause of death, canopy and stem measurements. The subject of a tree observation.

Kind of: State

Properties

Property Required Repeatable Value Message
alive yes no boolean A tree state says whether the tree is alive.
canopy long axis (m) no no decimal
canopy short axis (m) no no decimal
cause of death no no NCGS Causes of Death: Animal damage, Disease, Termites, Other insects, Too little or too much water, Frost, Removed, vandalised or stolen, Other or unknown
condition class yes no NCGS Tree Conditions: Thriving, Some signs of stress, Serious signs of stress, Significant pest damage, Dead A tree state carries exactly one condition class from the tree-conditions scheme.
decline noticed no no NCGS Decline Onsets: In the first week, In the second week, After two weeks, Not known
diameter at breast height (cm) no no decimal
fertilised since last visit no no boolean
hole or mound state no no NCGS Hole and Mound States: Raised soil border or ridge, Flat, no soil border, Slightly below ground level, Stands in a deep hole, Stands on a soil mound, Dead tree no longer in the hole
isStateOf yes no Tree individual A tree state is the state of exactly one tree individual.
mulch cover no no NCGS Mulch Cover: Well covered, Some mulch, not well covered, No mulch
pest or damage agent observed no yes NCGS Pests and Damage Agents: Water stress damage, Disease, Insects, including termites, Domestic animals, Wild animals, Birds, Other damage agent
planted in the ground no no boolean A tree state says at most once whether the tree was in the ground when observed (ADR-0031).
pruned since last visit no no boolean
reported planting date no no date A tree state carries at most one reported planting date, which is recorded and never moves the tree’s anchor (ADR-0031).
same tree as recorded no no boolean
soil moist no no boolean
stem paint present no no boolean
water source no no NCGS Water Sources: Municipal tap, Borehole, Rainwater tank, Tank filled by truck, Household greywater, River, dam or stream, Not watered
water source, other no no string
watering frequency no no NCGS Watering Frequencies: More than once a week, Once a week, Once every two weeks, Never
watering volume no no NCGS Watering Volumes: Less than 20 litres (under one bucket), 20 to 40 litres (one to two buckets), More than 40 litres (over two buckets)

Rules

  • A cause of death is recorded only on a tree observed dead.
  • A tree observed dead carries the condition class dead, and only a dead tree does.
  • A water source is a concept or, for an Other answer, the respondent’s words (ncgs:waterSourceOther), never both.
  • Instance data must not use the standard’s namespace https://nova.org.za/ncgs/ (ADR-0002: instances are urn:uuid: IRIs).
  • The short canopy axis cannot exceed the long axis.
  • When a tree’s decline was noticed is recorded only for a tree observed dead.

Checked by

This page explains the standard and does not decide conformance: only the released corpus does. It describes ontology/ncgs-ontology.ttl, dataRequirements/monitoring-shapes.ttl at standard version 0.7.0-dev.