都市樹木具有淨化空氣、環境美化及促進都市生物多樣性等功能，為都市規劃中不可或缺的一環。都市樹木中的「老樹」，常與當地居民成長過程中的記憶有所連結，一同見證環境與人文改變的軌跡與歷史。然而，在擁有歷史價值和紀念意義的同時，老樹也和古蹟和歷史建物一樣，有其脆弱須加以保護的面向。本研究以臺北市被列為「受保護樹木」的老拓客為對象，利用非破壞性評估中的目視樹木評估法（Visual Tree Assessment, VTA），將茄苳樹體依植穴、樹根、樹幹及樹冠等細分為數個項目，一一評估檢查，計算VTA缺點加總分數（簡稱VTA總分），再輔以i-Tree Eco量化其生態系服務價值，並評估VTA總分與生態系服務價值之關係\"研究結果顯示，具有較大徑級及冠幅的老樹，可提供較高的生態系服務效益。然而研究結果亦發現：受保護茄苳的缺點數量越多或缺陷越嚴重者，其生態系服務價值越低，且VTA總分與2019年所估算之生態系服務價值呈現負相關。為維持或增進這些受保護茄苳的價值，我們建議持續追蹤VTA總分較高的老茄苳，用更精準的方法加以檢查與評估，改善導致生長狀況差的原因並建立健全的保護方案。

Urban trees are fundamental elements in urban planning because they provide many benefits like ambient pollution purification, environmental greenification, and biodiversity conservation. Among the urban trees, old trees are often connected to the memories of city residents, and have witnessed the transition of urbanization and cultural history. Although these trees are valuable assets, they are vulnerable and are desperate for sophisticated monitoring and maintenance. In this study, we applied a nondestructive test, the “Visual Tree Assessment (VTA)”, to compute the total drawback scores (i.e., VTA scores) of the protected autumn maple trees (Bischofia javanica) in Taipei by evaluating specific conditions under the 4 major categories of plant pit, root, trunk, and crown. In addition, we evaluated the benefits of these trees1 ecosystem services using i-Tree Eco. Results showed that, in general, greater ecosystem services benefits of the protected trees were found to be provided by those with larger diameter at breast height (DBH) and crown size. However, based on our inventory, we also found that individuals with more defects or with more serious conditions of the defects were evaluated lower ecosystem services benefits. Moreover, analyses found that the VTA scores were negatively correlated with the value of the associated ecosystem services. To maintain or enhance the value of the protected autumn maple trees, we suggest to monitor the protected autumn maple trees with high VTA scores using high technology instruments or methods for further follow-up examination, improve the causes for poor tree growth, and develop comprehensive protection plans.