Researchers at New Mexico State University are mapping every tree on campus to determine how suitable they are for the desert Southwest.
They're using the i-Tree computer program.
A technician with the university's Spatial Applications and Research Center, Buddy Clark, says the researchers are looking at which species take in the most water and which do well on the Las Cruces campus.
The idea is that the trees that don't do well can eventually be phased out.
Everything from the tree's diameter to the condition of its leaves and location in relation to buildings and medians are considered. The computer program collects and stores all the data gathered.
There are more than 65 species of trees and more than 6,000 trees on campus. Officials say that number changes almost daily as trees are planted or removed.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.