Benefits of urban greenery: a case study for Buenos Aires city

Abstract

Although in Buenos Aires urban trees are  very much appreciated and it is widely acknowledged  that they perform an important function in the city  environment, there are no empirical studies about  their role as both carbon di oxide sinks and householdenergy  consumption savers. In the present paper we  present the results of calculating both the gross and  net carbon sequestration, and the heating and cooling  emission savings made through: tree shade, evapotranspiration  and wind shielding for a sample of 15,856  street trees: The total net amount of C02 emissions  from energy generation projected to be saved by the  sampled trees in the next 40 years is estimated at  14,754 tonnes, and it will account for 25.8% of the  total amount of C02 sequestered. The maximum net  co2 savings will be achieved in 16 to 20 years (2018-  2022), followed by a decrease due to the increase of  co2 releases by biomass decay and tree maintenance.  The extrapolation of our results to the whole  city shows that street trees can store half of the  co2 emisssions produced by municipal solid waste.  For Buenos Aires, a city with high rates of C02 storage  per tree, energy savings and C02 sequestration  are important features to be considered in urban  planning and management.