Quantifying carbon stocks in urban parks under cold climate conditions

Lindén, Leena; Riikonen, Anu; Setälä, Heikki; Yli‐Pelkonen, Vesa

doi:10.1016/j.ufug.2020.126633

Cited by 65 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…In most modern cities, fossil fuel combustion exceeds NPP per unit land area by at least an order of magnitude (Pataki et al, 2011). Hence, urban tree growth typically offsets municipal C emissions by only 0-3% annually (Pataki et al, 2009;Escobedo et al, 2010;Liu and Li, 2012;Baró et al, 2015;Velasco et al, 2016;Lindén et al, 2020), even before accounting for the energy needed to produce, transport, irrigate, prune, and fertilize urban trees (Roy et al, 2012). This is fundamentally a problem of scale.…”

Section: Urban Trees Are More Effective For Adaptation Than Mitigation Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Benefits and Limits of Urban Tree Planting for Environmental and Human Health

et al. 2021

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Many of the world’s major cities have implemented tree planting programs based on assumed environmental and social benefits of urban forests. Recent studies have increasingly tested these assumptions and provide empirical evidence for the contributions of tree planting programs, as well as their feasibility and limits, for solving or mitigating urban environmental and social issues. We propose that current evidence supports local cooling, stormwater absorption, and health benefits of urban trees for local residents. However, the potential for urban trees to appreciably mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution over a wide array of sites and environmental conditions is limited. Consequently, urban trees appear to be more promising for climate and pollution adaptation strategies than mitigation strategies. In large part, this is due to space constraints limiting the extent of urban tree canopies relative to the current magnitude of emissions. The most promising environmental and health impacts of urban trees are those that can be realized with well-stewarded tree planting and localized design interventions at site to municipal scales. Tree planting at these scales has documented benefits on local climate and health, which can be maximized through targeted site design followed by monitoring, adaptive management, and studies of long-term eco-evolutionary dynamics.

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Section: Urban Trees Are More Effective For Adaptation Than Mitigation Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Benefits and Limits of Urban Tree Planting for Environmental and Human Health

et al. 2021

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“…Although life cycle assessment (LCA) has not been widely applied to the climate impacts of GI, it would be a valuable tool for estimating and comparing the long-term environmental performance of different urban green space projects (Strohbach et al 2012). The C-regulating capacity of different GI elements greatly depends on certain elements, including the potential biomass of the plant (larger plants such as trees which possess a larger C storage), the amount of C that is released during construction and maintenance phases, as well as the decomposition of biomass (Setälä et al 2016;Linden et al 2020). The relevance of different GI solutions for achieving climate neutrality in a wider context of built environment has started to increase (Kuittinen et al 2016(Kuittinen et al , 2021, and city-wide estimates of urban carbon pools are becoming available (Richter et al 2020).…”

Section: Missing Environmental Information and Needs In Landscape Design And Constructionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Product Declarations for plants and soils: how to quantify carbon uptake in landscape design and construction?

Kuittinen

Hautamäki

Tuhkanen

et al. 2021

Int J Life Cycle Assess

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Purpose Currently, no clear guidance exists for ISO and EN standards of calculating, verifying, and reporting the climate impacts of plants, mulches, and soils used in landscape design and construction. In order to optimise the potential of ecosystem services in the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions in the built environment, we unequivocally propose their inclusion when assessing sustainability. Methods We analysed the life cycle phases of plants, soils, and mulches from the viewpoint of compiling standard-based Environmental Product Declarations. In comparison to other construction products, the differences of both mass and carbon flows were identified in these products. Results Living and organic products of green infrastructure require an LCA approach of their own. Most importantly, if conventional life cycle guidance for Environmental Product Declarations were to be followed, over time, the asymmetric mass and carbon flows would lead to skewed conclusions. Moreover, the ability of plants to reproduce raises additional questions for allocating environmental impacts. Conclusions We present a set of recommendations that are required for compiling Environmental Product Declarations for the studied products of green infrastructure. In order to enable the quantification of the climate change mitigation potential of these products, it is essential that work for further development of LCA guidance be mandated.

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“…Urban trees, particularly street trees, provide numerous benefits, or ecosystem services, which can contribute to mitigating climate change while also enhancing urban biodiversity, sustainability, and improving human health and well-being (Tyrväinen et al, 2005;Harlan and Ruddell, 2011;Salmond et al, 2016;O'Sullivan et al, 2017;Nowak et al, 2018). These benefits range from intangible social, psychological and aesthetic values (Peckham et al, 2013) to the amelioration of air quality (Nowak et al, 2018), carbon sequestration (Lindén et al, 2020), and the attenuation of heat-island effects (Ziter et al, 2019). As a result, tree planting programs are being actively pursued around the world.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prioritizing Street Tree Planting Locations to Increase Benefits for All Citizens: Experience From Joliette, Canada

2021

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As the climate continues to warm and the world becomes more urbanized, our reliance on trees and the benefits they provide is rapidly increasing. Many cities worldwide are planting trees to offset rising temperatures, trap pollutants, and enhance environmental and human health and well-being. To maximize the benefits of planting trees and avoid further increasing social inequities, a city needs to prioritize where to establish trees by first identifying those areas of greatest need. This work aims to demonstrate a spatially explicit approach for cities to determine these priority locations to achieve the greatest returns on specific benefits. Criteria for prioritization were developed in tandem with the City of Joliette, Canada, and based on nine indicators: surface temperature, tree density, vegetation cover, resilience, tree size and age, presence of species at risk, land use type, socioeconomic deprivation, and potential for active transportation. The City’s preferences were taken into account when assigning different weights to each indicator. The resulting tree planting priority maps can be used to target street tree plantings to locations where trees are needed most. This approach can be readily applied to other cities as these criteria can be adjusted to accommodate specific tree canopy goals and planning constraints. As cities are looking to expand tree canopy, we hope this work will assist in sustaining and growing their urban forest, enabling it to be more resilient and to keep providing multiple and sustained benefits where they are needed the most.

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Quantifying carbon stocks in urban parks under cold climate conditions

Cited by 65 publications

References 52 publications

The Benefits and Limits of Urban Tree Planting for Environmental and Human Health

The Benefits and Limits of Urban Tree Planting for Environmental and Human Health

Environmental Product Declarations for plants and soils: how to quantify carbon uptake in landscape design and construction?

Prioritizing Street Tree Planting Locations to Increase Benefits for All Citizens: Experience From Joliette, Canada

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