Carbon dynamics in suburban Philadelphia

Urban areas are one of the greatest contributors of air pollution. Many efforts are being made to mitigate air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions to, in turn, mitigate the damaging effects of climate change. One such effort is to understand, leverage, and manage ecosystems for the removal of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Carbon sequestration, or removal of carbon dioxide, by urban forests are globally researched. In the context of carbon sequestration, however, forests that are found beyond urban settings or contiguous preserved lands are not as popularly studied. This study assessed the environmental impacts of Greater Philadelphia’s suburban trees on atmospheric carbon dioxide using a top-down approach. This research set out to determine the difference in carbon sequestration and storage of an urban forest and suburban forest. Cover class between the study sites were significantly different. Annual carbon sequestration by trees was higher in the suburban site (including Bucks, Delaware, and Montgomery counties) than in the urban site (Philadelphia county). Expected values (in USD) were higher in the suburban site than in the urban site. Total tree carbon storage estimates were higher in the suburban site than in the urban site. While i-Tree Canopy is a useful tool to make estimations of carbon sequestration, an i-Tree Eco analysis of the same area may produce more accurate and detailed results, such as revealing trends in tree species and particular areas that contribute more to carbon sequestration and storage. Due to possible limitations discussed in conclusion, future research of this nature should continue not only in different regions but also in further detail using i-Tree Eco, another software within the i-Tree Software Suite. i-Tree Eco leverages a bottom-up approach to assessing urban forests in which field data such as diameter at breast height, tree species, percent plot cover, and other characteristics are to generate detailed reports on the study area of one’s choice. Assessing suburban forests and their role of carbon sequestration in the context of climate change provides information that can be used in forest management. Implications of this study support protection of forests, reforestation, and suburban and urban greening.