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Collecting and Processing Drone-based Remotely Sensed Data for Use in Forest Recovery Monitoring
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848
Tree Productivity Enhanced with Conversion from Forest to Urban Land Covers
Brittain M Briber1, Lucy R Hutyra1, Andrew B Reinmann1
1Department of Earth and Environment, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Plos One
|August 25, 2015
Summary
Urban development significantly reduces landscape biomass but enhances tree growth rates. This creates dynamic urban ecosystems with rapid carbon cycling, crucial for understanding climate mitigation strategies.
Area of Science:
- Urban ecology
- Forestry
- Ecosystem dynamics
Background:
- Urban expansion alters landscape structure and productivity.
- Urban biomass and productivity remain poorly understood.
- Quantifying urban vegetation's role in carbon budgets is increasingly vital.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the impact of forest-to-urban land-use conversion on biomass and productivity.
- To analyze changes in biomass structure and growth rates in urbanized landscapes.
- To understand the carbon cycling dynamics of urban ecosystems.
Main Methods:
- Field assessment of biomass structure across eastern Massachusetts.
- Analysis of Quercus rubra tree cores to determine growth rates.
- Biomass density and growth rate calculations for urban and forest areas.
Main Results:
- Urban land uses contained less than half the biomass of adjacent forests (33.5 ± 8.0 Mg C ha(-1)).
- Increased urban development intensity correlated with decreased canopy cover, stem density, and biomass.
- Tree growth rates nearly doubled post-development, with urban aboveground biomass growth comparable to forests (1.8 ± 0.4 Mg C ha(-1) yr(-1)).
Conclusions:
- Urban areas exhibit lower biomass pools but high growth rates, indicating dynamic ecosystems with rapid turnover.
- Understanding urban vegetation's role in carbon budgets is critical for climate mitigation and policy.
- Urbanization transforms landscapes into rapidly cycling carbon systems.
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