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| Urban trees are providing shade. Source: Abby Yao |
Regarding CO2 emissions, trees offer a dual benefit. They take up carbon from the atmosphere by storing carbon in their wood (à la photosynthesis). Even more importantly, they prevent carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere by keeping buildings cool. In fact, over 3 times more carbon is offset by trees' ability to limit carbon dioxide due to air conditioning than their capacity to store carbon. Much of the cooling comes from shade, but there is also ambient cooling of the atmosphere in an urban forest
Planting trees for shade not the easiest in cities where space is tight. I found one interesting solution by Shubhedu Sharma, tiny forests. I would expect most cooling to come from ambient cooling and not shade. They can help with urban cooling in at latitudes where snow albedo isn't important. However, if you are constrained by space, this project takes up more room than a tree.
At all latitude trees also offer the added benefits of reduced smog, less run-off, increased property values and improved quality of life. Tiny forests also increase biodiversity and may produce food. Reducing run-off will be especially important moving forward because more frequent extreme precipitation is expected.
Shubhendu Sharma's talk on creating tiny forests for the price of an iPod Source: TED.com
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The talk is really good, thanks for sharing. But aren't there any negative impacts of these type of forest?, hope following post answers.
ReplyDeleteSome argue that the decrease albedo causes a net warming in the Boreal zone. I will be writing about that debate in my next post. As for the tiny forrests, there is some intail need for watering. They try to use local plants to prevent the need for extra water after the first few years. In cities the cost of maintaining trees (trimming, stump removal, ect.) can be quite expensive.
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