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Kang KA, Marín-Spiotta E, Vaughan E, Ferring CR, Ponette-González AG. Soil Black Carbon Increases Under Urban Trees with Road Density and Time: Opportunity Hotspots for Carbon Storage in Urban Ecosystems. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2023:10.1007/s00267-023-01911-z. [PMID: 37993546 DOI: 10.1007/s00267-023-01911-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2023] [Accepted: 11/05/2023] [Indexed: 11/24/2023]
Abstract
Black carbon (BC) can comprise a significant fraction of the soil carbon pool in cities. However, vegetation cover and human activity influence the spatial distribution of urban soil BC. We quantified soil total carbon (TC), soil organic carbon (SOC), BC, and total nitrogen (TN) in a medium-sized city in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas. Soils were sampled to 20 cm depth from underneath 16 paired Quercus stellata (post oak) trees and open lawns. Effects of vegetation cover, road density, and building age (a proxy for time since development) on soil C and N were analyzed. Soil OC concentrations were higher under post oak trees (5.5%) compared to open lawns (3.6%) at 0-10 cm, but not at 10-20 cm depth. In contrast, soil BC and TN did not differ by vegetation cover. There were significant interaction effects between vegetation cover and road density and vegetation cover and building age on soil BC. At 0-10 cm, soil BC concentrations, stock, and BC/SOC ratios increased more with road density under trees than lawns, indicating enhanced atmospheric BC deposition to tree canopies. Black carbon in tree soils also increased with building age as compared to lawn soils, likely due to higher BC retention under trees, enhanced BC losses under lawns, or both. Our findings show that urban tree soils are localized opportunity hotspots for BC storage in areas with elevated emissions and longer time since development. Conserving and planting urban trees above permeable surfaces and soils could contribute to long-term carbon storage in urban ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherina A Kang
- Department of Geography and the Environment, University of North Texas, Denton, TX, 76203, USA
- Department of Plant and Soil Science, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 19716, USA
| | - Erika Marín-Spiotta
- Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
| | - Elliot Vaughan
- Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
- Evironmental Science Program, Southwest Minnesota State University, 1501 State St., Marshall, MN, 56258, USA
| | - C Reid Ferring
- Department of Geography and the Environment, University of North Texas, Denton, TX, 76203, USA
| | - Alexandra G Ponette-González
- Department of Geography and the Environment, University of North Texas, Denton, TX, 76203, USA.
- Department of City and Metropolitan Planning, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA.
- Natural History Museum of Utah, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, 84108, USA.
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Wu J, Wang M, Wang T, Fu X. Evaluation of Ecological Service Function of Liquidambar formosana Plantations. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:15317. [PMID: 36430034 PMCID: PMC9690208 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph192215317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2022] [Revised: 11/14/2022] [Accepted: 11/17/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
A Liquidambar formosana plantation is a kind of fast-grown forest in the subtropical region, providing a variety of ecosystem services such as superior wood, carbon fixation and oxygen release, and biodiversity maintenance. However, the ecological service function value of Liquidambar formosana plantations is not clear. To gain insights into the characteristics and importance of its ecological and economic benefits, the Liquidambar formosana plantation in the Tianjiling Forest Farm of Changsha City was taken as the specific research object in this paper. The ecological service function evaluation index system for Liquidambar formosana plantations was established based on the relevant research worldwide and the actual situation. The market value method, shadow engineering method, carbon tax method, and other environmental economics methods were used to estimate the value of seven ecological service functions (including organic matter production, carbon fixation and oxygen release, water conservation, soil conservation, soil improvement, air purification, and biodiversity maintenance) of the forest of Liquidambar formosana. The results indicated that the total economic value of ecological service function provided by the Liquidambar formosana plantation of Changsha was 103,277.82 RMB/(hm2·a), and the indirect economic value was 8.47 times that of the direct economic value. Among the seven ecological service functions, the value of carbon fixation and oxygen release was the highest (36,703.33 RMB·hm-2·a-1), thus suggesting that the Liquidambar formosana plantation had strong photosynthesis and significant carbon fixation. This study directly reflects the value of forest ecological service function in the form of currency, which is beneficial to provide more insights into forest ecological service function so as to provide basic data and a scientific basis for the protection, construction, and promotion of the sustainable utilization and development of urban forest resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingdong Wu
- College of Forestry, Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Changsha 410004, China
| | - Mingxu Wang
- The Forestry Department of Hunan Province, Changsha 410004, China
| | - Tingting Wang
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Changsha 410004, China
| | - Xinxi Fu
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Changsha 410004, China
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