Carbon storage and sequestration by urban trees in the United States was quantified to assess the magnitude and role of urban forests in relation to climate change. Urban tree field data from 28 cities and 6 states were used to determine the average carbon density per unit of tree cover. These data were applied to statewide urban tree cover measurements to determine total urban forest carbon storage and annual sequestration by state and nationally. Urban whole tree carbon storage densities average 7.69 kg C m À2 of tree cover and sequestration densities average 0.28 kg C m À2 of tree cover per year. Total tree carbon storage in U. S. urban areas (c. 2005) is estimated at 643 million tonnes ($50.5 billion value; 95% CI ¼ 597 million and 690 million tonnes) and annual sequestration is estimated at 25.6 million tonnes ($2.0 billion value; 95% CI ¼ 23.7 million to 27.4 million tonnes).Published by Elsevier Ltd.
An analysis of trees in Philadelphia reveals that this city has about 2.1 million trees with canopies that cover 15.7 percent of the area. The most common tree species are black cherry, crabapple, and tree of heaven. The urban forest currently stores about 530,000 tons of carbon valued at $9.8 million. In addition, these trees remove about 16,100 tons of carbon per year
To properly manage urban forests, it is essential to have data on this important resource. An efficient means to obtain this information is to randomly sample urban areas. To help assess the urban forest structure (e.g., number of trees, species composition, tree sizes, health) and several functions (e.g., air pollution removal, carbon storage and sequestration), the Urban Forest Effects (UFORE) model was developed. Data collection variables and model methods are detailed and urban forest structure results are compared among 14 United States cities with average tree density ranging between 22.5 trees/ha (9.1 trees/ac) in Casper, Wyoming, U.S. to 275.8 trees/ha (111.6 trees/ac) in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Advantages and disadvantages of this ground-based method of assessing urban forest structure, functions, and values are discussed.
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