Research article Modeling potential tree belt functions in rural landscapes using a new GIS tool Maciej Marcin Nowak * , Katarzyna Pe ˛ dziwiatr Laboratory of Biological Spatial Information, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University in Pozna n, ul. Umultowska 89, 61-614 Pozna n, Poland article info Article history: Received 21 December 2017 Received in revised form 23 March 2018 Accepted 26 March 2018 Keywords: Tree belt modeling (TBM) Greenways planning Landscape management Model Builder Python script language abstract The increasing human pressure on the environment requires effective protection activities. One way to stop the degradation of natural resources is the presence of woody vegetation networks, mainly linear in character, called linear woody features, greenways or tree belts. These objects, thanks to the many natural and economic functions they serve, enable the realization of sustainable development policy. To properly design a greenway network, the natural conditions and degree of environmental degradation in a given area must first be evaluated. Based on these data, it is possible to determine appropriate affor- estation needs. To evaluate the ability of a given area to meet the requirements of greenway functions, we propose a new computer modeling system e a tree belt modeling (TBM). TBM defines the availability of tree belt functions in the planned network and is one of preparation stages in the design of an optimal greenway structure. In this work, to analyze the studied area potential, application of a cadastral dataset was proposed. Thanks to this approach, the obtained results may be related to specific plot borders, which is optimal for greenway construction. To automatize the process of analysis, the TBM was implemented into an ArcGIS toolbox. The result of using this toolbox is a tree belt functions geodatabase. This database contains information about the available functions in the analyzed lines that are potential sites for afforestation. This solution, both at the methodological and technological levels, may significantly in- crease the effectiveness of greenway planning and thus contribute to more effective activities for sus- tainable development. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Woody vegetation are non-forested areas covered with trees and shrubs. They are also called trees outside forest (TOF) (Bellefontaine et al., 2002). TOF plays an essential role in main- taining the ecological sustainability of human transformed land- scapes and enables one to conduct different activities in accordance with the principles of sustainable development (Ahern, 1995; Salici, 2013). These features assume different spatial forms, often dependent on their origin: those formed in a natural way are usually irregular (they correspond to natural forms, e.g., riparian buffers or terrain depressions), while those planted by humans are usually regular, e.g., in the form of belts along communication routes (Flatres, 1976; Forman and Baudry, 1984; Zaja ˛ czkowski, 2005). The majority of TOF have the form of belts situated along plot borders, banks of watercourses and water bodies, roadsides and railway tracks. There is a large amount of evidence confirming the advantages of linear woody features (LWF) for both nature and humans. Their functional richness positively affects the landscape structures transformed by human activity (Forman, 1995). Tree belts can reduce wind power (Norton, 1988), soil wind erosion (Ticknor, 1988; Brandle et al., 2004), pesticide drift (Szajdak and Gaca, 2010) and odors from livestock activity (Tyndall and Colletti, 2007). Furthermore, they balance the snow cover distri- bution (Kort et al., 2012), have the capacity of water retention (Ke ˛ dziora et al., 1989), improve water quality (Correll, 1997) and stimulate biodiversity levels by providing habitats for fauna, flora and fungi (Ryszkowski and Karg, 1997; Hinsley and Bellamy, 2000). An important aspect of LWF functioning is their ability to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions by producing biomass for carbon re- serves or bioenergy (Kort and Turnock, 1999; Song, 2007). Because of the many advantages of LWF, it is justified to restore these elements of the landscape in degraded areas or to increase * Corresponding author. E-mail address: mcnowak@amu.edu.pl (M.M. Nowak). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Environmental Management journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jenvman https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.03.118 0301-4797/© 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Journal of Environmental Management 217 (2018) 315e326