A study by the Columbia Climate School reveals the importance of vegetation in urban environments. In the town of New-York to the United States and some adjacent densely populated areas, the photosynthesis by trees and grasses absorbs all carbon emissions produced by the transport sector during the many days of summer.
To reach these conclusions, the researchers used vegetation maps and aerial radar images. They also counted the previously unaccounted for large amounts of greenery because scattered in small spots on the cards. And these last play a disproportionate role in the absorption of CO2 emissions.
“Most people have assumed that NYC is just a grey box, that it’s biogenically dead. But just because there’s a concrete sidewalk somewhere doesn’t mean there’s not also a tree shading it,” says @columbiaclimate @LamontEarth‘s @roseAtmos. Via @futurism. https://t.co/ieJxc5IWdY
— LDEO (@LamontEarth) January 9, 2023
Counting each part of lawn, tree canopy, individual street trees, small backyard gardens, vacant lots overgrown with vegetation and studying data from towers of instruments that continuously measure the carbon dioxide content of the airthey concluded that New York vegetation was capable of ingesting all of its emissions.
70% of human carbon dioxide emissions come from urban areas. New-York is the first issuing city of United States and the third in the world. “There’s a lot more greenery than we thoughtand that’s what drives our conclusion,” reveals lead author Dandan Wei, a research fellow at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at the Columbia Climate School.
“It tells us that the ecosystem is important to New Yorkand if it is important here, it’s probably important everywhere else“, says the researcher. “Most people have assumed that New York City is just a gray box, thatshe is biologically dead“, explains Roísín Commane, co-author of the report. “But it is not because there is a concrete sidewalk somewhere that there is not also a tree that shades it.”
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.#newyork #newyorkcity #NYC #city #ville #voyage #urban landscape #bigapple #ilovenewyork #newyorknewyork #nycityworld #streetsofnewyork #photo #photographer #photographer #urban #artmajeur #etudiantip #artistsupportpledge #tree #building pic.twitter.com/CHhwKPs8T7— Céline Pivoine Eyes (@CelineEyes) April 19, 2020
The tree canopy covers approximately 170 km2 of the American city, or 22% of its area! As for grasses, they represent 94 km2, or 12%. The researchers looked at data from June to August 2018 when the metropolitan area emitted 14.7 million tons of carbon dioxide. Behind the electrical industry and building energy, road transport emitted 1.2 million tonnes.
But beware, carbon uptake only occurs during the growing season local that extends from mid-April to mid-October at New-York, a relatively cold city. Because the “vegetation in the cities located in warmer climates probably play a larger role in the absorption of carbon”, explains Dandan Wei.
