Tree enumeration
Tree Survey and Tree Mapping for Sites
Tagged tree registers and tree location plans for felling permissions, layouts, corridors and estate records.
Quick AnswerA tree survey tags and numbers every tree on a site and records its species, girth, height, canopy, condition and position, then plots it on a drawing. It supports felling and transplant files, layouts and valuations. Most sites also need ground levels; read more about topographic survey for that side.
What is a tree survey?
A tree survey, also called tree enumeration or a tree census, is a numbered register of every tree on a site, giving each one a tag, a position on the drawing, its species, girth, height, canopy spread and condition. It is the document that forest departments, architects, highway engineers and buyers all ask for when trees stand between a plan and the ground.
Our crews tag each tree on the ground, fix its position with GPS or a total station, and plot it on the site drawing. On a bare plot the tree register may be the only drawing needed; on a development site it usually sits on top of a level survey, which you can read more about topographic survey on.
When does a site need a tree census?
Whenever trees may be cut, moved, protected or valued, someone will want a count that can be checked tree by tree.
- Felling or transplant applications: the permission file needs species, girth and position for each tree affected.
- Building layout: architects shift blocks and roads to save large trees once they can see them on the plan.
- Road and pipeline corridors: widening schemes count trees inside the new right of way.
- Logistics and industrial plots: many plots bought for sheds still carry orchard or roadside trees; a tree register forms part of a warehouse site survey before the layout is frozen.
- Compensation and valuation: orchards and plantations acquired for projects are valued tree by tree.
- Campus and estate records: universities, housing societies and plants keep a tree register for maintenance and planting plans.
What do the Delhi tree rules ask for?
In Delhi, the Delhi Preservation of Trees Act, 1994 makes the Tree Officer's prior permission necessary before felling a tree, even on private land. For the Act, a tree is a woody plant whose trunk is at least 5 cm in diameter at 30 cm above ground and which stands at least 1 m tall, so far more plants qualify than people expect.
The forest department's application form asks for the total trees on the property by species, and for each tree proposed for felling to be numbered in paint with its species and girth measured at 1.35 m. Compensatory planting is required, and a security deposit is taken towards it. Permission, once granted, has a limited validity. Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and other states have their own rules and forms, and some areas carry extra restrictions; we prepare the survey to match the form your forest office uses, but the application and its approval stay with you.
What inspectors usually check is simple: does the number painted on the tree match the list, does the girth look right, and is the tree where the plan says it is. A register built from tags, photos and surveyed positions answers all three on the spot, which shortens site inspections and avoids a second visit. We also keep the field sheets, so any figure can be traced back to the day it was measured.
What is recorded for each tree?
| Field | How we measure it | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Tag number | Weatherproof numbered tag or paint mark | Links the tree on the ground to the register |
| Position | GPS, DGPS or total station at the trunk | Places the tree on the layout drawing |
| Species | Common and botanical name, by trained staff | Protected and fruit species are treated differently |
| Girth | Tape around the trunk at the height the form specifies | Decides whether the tree is counted and how it is valued |
| Height and canopy | Measured or estimated with an instrument | Clearance from buildings, wires and roads |
| Condition | Healthy, damaged, leaning, dead or hollow | Safety and transplant decisions |
Table note: if the plot boundary itself is unclear, fix it first so every tree falls on the right side of the line; read: land survey services.
How is a tree survey carried out?
Ground crews walk the site in strips, tag and measure each tree, and log its position; on large plantations a drone image helps plan the strips.
- Boundary and grid: the site is split into blocks so no tree is missed or counted twice.
- Tag and measure: each tree gets its number, then girth, height, canopy and condition are written up on the spot.
- Position: GPS or DGPS in open areas; total station where canopy blocks the sky.
- Photo log: one photograph per tree showing the tag, useful when the felling file is inspected.
- Check walk: a second person re-walks sample blocks and compares counts before the crew leaves.
For large orchards and plantations, an aerial image shows the canopy pattern and gaps; see getting a drone survey in India done right. The drone does not replace tagging, because species and girth can only be taken at the trunk.
Where trees are to be moved rather than cut, the register gains two more columns: an estimate of root-ball size from the girth, and a note on access for the crane or hydraulic spade that will lift it. Large, old or hollow trees seldom survive a move, and the condition column is where that shows up early, before anyone budgets for a transplant that will fail.
What do you receive?
A tree register you can file, and a drawing you can design on. The register comes in Excel with one row per tree and summary sheets by species and girth class. The tree location plan is in DWG and PDF, with tag numbers and canopy circles, on your site boundary or level survey. A KMZ lets anyone check positions on a phone, and the photo log is supplied in a folder named by tag. Tree density is often stated per acre or hectare, while land papers may be in bigha or kanal; a closer look at Land Area Converter helps when the two have to be compared.
Tree survey rates – November 2026
Tree survey is ₹40 per tree, with a minimum of ₹25,000 per job, exclusive of GST. The rate covers tagging, girth, height, species, GPS position and the register.
- 900 trees: 900 × ₹40 = ₹36,000
- 350 trees: ₹14,000 by count, so the ₹25,000 minimum applies
- A total station position for each tree, or a full level survey, is quoted alongside
- Mobilisation/travel, if it applies, is listed in the written quote
How soon can the crew start?
In Delhi NCR, usually the same day or within 1 working day; elsewhere in India the count begins at once, or within 1 working day, with a team member who lives locally. The register and drawing normally follow within 3 working days of field work on ordinary sites; large plantations and long corridors are issued block by block. Dense undergrowth, standing water and snakes in summer slow the count, and we plan larger sites around them. To fix the price, share a boundary and a rough tree count, then check rates for your site.
Frequently asked questions
Do you get the tree felling permission for us?
No. We prepare the tree survey and drawings in the format your forest office asks for; the application and approval stay with the owner or project.
Can you mark which trees fall inside a new building footprint?
Yes. We overlay the proposed layout and list the trees inside, near and clear of it.
How is the girth measured?
With a tape around the trunk at the height the form specifies, for example 1.35 m above ground on the Delhi felling form.
Can you update a tree register after construction?
Yes. We re-walk the site and mark retained, removed and new trees. For the built works themselves, see the as built survey process step by step.
Do you identify every species?
Common Indian species are named in the field by trained staff. Rare or doubtful ones are photographed and marked for confirmation by a botanist if the file needs it.
Do shrubs and saplings count?
It depends on the rule that applies. Under the Delhi Act, even small woody plants can count as trees, so we agree the threshold before starting.
Get a written quote for a tree survey
Aerial and other
Written by Saniya Parveen · Technically reviewed by Rahul Rai · Updated 8 November 2026