Most CAD software wasn't built with landscape architects in mind. In this episode of Rooted in Innovation, host Dionisio Roman, joined by Ethan Hartzel, sits down with Jake Lott, an 11-year member of the Land F/X team who now also teaches AutoCAD for Environmental Design at Utah State, to unpack Land F/X's origin story (built by a landscape architect and his programmer son, now CEO), how a user-driven "wish list" process turns trade-show feedback into shipped features within weeks, where 2D and 3D workflows are headed as Revit still lacks real irrigation functionality, and where AI genuinely fits into landscape design software, from Land F/X's new support assistant Leah and AI-generated plant imagery to why Jake argues AI can speed up a designer's workflow but can't replace the judgment at the center of the job.

Timecodes:

00:00 – 01:10 | Cold Open and Introducing Jake Lott

01:10 – 01:43 | Episode Roadmap: Land F/X, Feedback Loops, and AI

01:43 – 03:48 | Jake's Path From a Landscaping Family to Utah State

03:48 – 05:07 | What Land F/X Actually Is

05:07 – 06:41 | The Workflow Gaps Standard CAD Leaves for Landscape Architects

06:41 – 08:53 | Built By a Landscape Architect and His Son: The Land F/X Origin Story

08:53 – 10:42 | Turning User Requests Into Custom Symbols and a 56,000-Plant Database

10:42 – 12:31 | Scaling to 9,000 Licenses on the Back of Support

12:31 – 14:02 | From Trade-Show Ask to Shipped Feature in Two Weeks

14:02 – 15:14 | Inside the Feature Wish List Process

15:14 – 19:28 | Teaching AutoCAD and the Origin of "Genius Hour"

19:28 – 22:46 | Why Understanding Tools Under the Hood Still Matters

22:46 – 24:51 | Land F/X as a Lead Source and Using the Right Tool for the Job

24:51 – 26:16 | Teaching the Math Before You Teach the Calculator

26:16 – 30:36 | 2D, 3D, and Where Revit Falls Short for Irrigation Design

30:36 – 36:49 | Jake's Many Hats: Support, Training Videos, and the Excel Analogy

36:49 – 40:19 | Why AI Won't Replace the Designer

40:19 – 42:50 | Meet Leah and AI-Generated Plant Imagery With Nano Banana

42:50 – 44:45 | AI as a Design Assistant, Not an Artist

44:45 – 47:47 | Manufacturer Partnerships and What's Next for Landscape Tech

47:47 – 48:50 | Closing and Where to Find Land F/X

Resources:

Have an upcoming landscaping project? Contact Tree Staple for a quote treestaple.com

Connect with Jim Mancini on LinkedIn

Connect with Dionisio Roman III on LinkedIn
Connect with Jake Lott on LinkedIn

Connect with Land F/X on LinkedIn

Learn more about LandFX: https://www.landfx.com/

Listen to the Land F/X CEO's podcast episode on AI: https://www.landfx.com/news/podcasts/7821-tool-or-takeover-ai-in-landscape-architecture

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Most cities manage their urban forests on gut instinct and aging data, and on this episode of Rooted in Innovation, presented by Tree Staple, host Dionisio Roman talks with Josh Behounek, a 25-year consulting arborist at Davey Tree Expert Company, about how that's changing. Josh explains how Davey's partnership with tech company Greehill uses LiDAR scanning and AI to build a full digital twin of a city's tree canopy, why leaf area index and percent dieback have become the strongest predictors of a tree's health, and how a two-year rescan cycle is finally giving city foresters a closed feedback loop on their removal and pruning decisions. The conversation also covers what it takes to build a 20-year urban forest master plan that survives a change in city administration, with real examples from Pittsburgh, Knoxville, Louisville, and Atlanta. If you manage green infrastructure for a city or just want to understand the strategy behind the trees lining your streets, this episode lays it out.

Timecodes:
00:01 – 02:10 | Meet Josh Behounek: 25 Years at Davey Tree's Consulting Division
02:10 – 04:30 | From Pen and Paper to GIS Maps: A Brief History of Tree Inventories
04:30 – 07:41 | Building Smart Tree Inventory: The Microsoft Grant That Started It All
07:41 – 11:31 | The Real Cost of Outdated Data for City Foresters
11:31 – 14:40 | Inside the Scan: LiDAR Hardware, the Greehill Partnership, and Scanning Atlanta
14:40 – 18:19 | What AI Extracts From Every Tree, and Atlanta vs. Louisville's Approach
18:19 – 22:05 | The Metrics That Matter: Leaf Area Index, Dieback, Lean Angle, and Trunk Stability
22:05 – 26:21 | Comparing Cities and Closing the Two-Year Feedback Loop
26:21 – 28:40 | Why Trees Actually Fail: Debunking the Included Bark Myth
28:40 – 31:49 | Who Owns the Urban Forest? Jurisdiction and Private Land Challenges
31:49 – 33:42 | Building a 20-Year Master Plan: Lessons From Pittsburgh and Knoxville
33:42 – 36:44 | Getting Developers to the Table on Tree Preservation
36:44 – 40:12 | Surviving Administration Turnover, Equity, and Rising Heat Priorities
40:12 – 42:06 | The Industry's Storytelling Problem
42:06 – 44:18 | Closing Thoughts and Where to Learn More

Resources:
Connect with Dionisio Roman (Host) on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dionisio-roman-iii-6a228590/
Connect with Jim Mancini on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-mancini-743b386/
Connect with Josh Behounek on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshbehounek/
Learn more about Davey Tree Expert Company: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-davey-tree-expert-company/
Follow Tree Staple on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tree-staple-inc

The 2025 LA wildfires exposed a hard truth: most of what we think makes neighborhoods fire safe is wrong. Landscape architect Gary Lai, founder of quixotic Nature Based Solutions and a professor at Cal Poly Pomona, lived three miles from the Eaton Fire and saw firsthand what worked and what failed.

In this episode, hosts Dionisio Roman III and Ethan Hartzel talk with Gary about why 80 years of fire suppression policy set the stage for today's mega fires, why ember driven fires (not the main fire front) destroy most homes, and what a true fire adaptive community looks like in practice, from home hardening to evacuation planning to strong neighbor networks.

If you work near the wildland urban interface or have defaulted to the standard "clear everything" fire safety playbook, this episode will change how you think about the problem. Learn more at quixotic Nature Based Solutions.

Timecodes:

00:00 – 01:13 | Intro and Welcoming Ethan Hartzel

01:13 – 04:07 | Meet Gary Lai and the Fire Adaptive Community Framework

04:07 – 05:48 | How Gary Got Into Fire Ecology and Landscape Design

05:48 – 09:26 | Living Through the Eaton Fire: A Firsthand Account

09:26 – 14:42 | 80 Years of Fire Suppression and Why It Backfired

14:42 – 17:35 | Native Plants, Ember Fires, and Why Oak Trees Save Homes

17:35 – 21:05 | The Landscape Isn't the Villain: What Actually Burns Houses

21:05 – 24:31 | What Is a Fire Adaptive Community

24:31 – 28:36 | Home Hardening, Infrastructure, and Why Community Survival Matters Most

28:36 – 32:29 | The Insurance Crisis and the Real Cost of Rebuilding

32:29 – 38:06 | What Landscape Architects Should Do Differently During Rebuilding

38:06 – 41:10 | Lessons From Greece, Australia, and Other Fire Prone Regions

41:10 – 44:05 | Climate Change, Unpredictable Drought, and Why Insurers Are Pulling Out

44:05 – 48:43 | The Eaton Fire's Impact on Altadena and Questions of Equity

48:43 – 52:52 | Closing Thoughts and Where to Learn More About Gary's Work

Resources:

Have an upcoming landscaping project? Contact Tree Staple for a quote treestaple.com

Connect with Jim Mancini on LinkedIn

Connect with Dionisio Roman III on LinkedIn
Connect with Gary Lai on LinkedIn on LinkedIn

Connect with quixotic Nature Based Solutions on LinkedIn

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