Urban trees in university campus: structure, function, and ecological values.

Area of Science:

• Urban Forestry
• Ecosystem Services Assessment
• Environmental Science

Background:

• University campuses offer valuable ecosystem services, yet data on Chinese campuses, particularly in Northern China, is scarce.
• This study addresses the knowledge gap by examining tree ecosystem services within a Chinese university setting.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the ecological benefits and monetary value of trees on the Shenyang Institute of Technology campus.
• To provide insights for campus greening managers regarding tree selection and management strategies.

Main Methods:

• Utilized i-Tree Streets software to analyze the ecological benefits and monetary value of campus trees.
• Cataloged tree species, numbers, age structure, and quantified ecosystem services like energy saving, carbon reduction, and air pollutant removal.

Main Results:

• The campus hosts 5,193 trees of 66 species, dominated by Catalpa ovata, Acer mono, Rhus typhina, and Salix babylonica.
• Trees provided substantial energy saving ($60,850), carbon reduction ($34,318), and aesthetic ($30,150) benefits.
• The age structure is skewed towards young trees (71.5%), with a lack of mature and old trees.

Conclusions:

• Campus trees deliver significant economic and environmental benefits, with mature trees and those possessing larger leaf areas contributing most to ecosystem services.
• Findings suggest optimizing tree species selection and management for enhanced ecosystem service provision in Chinese university campuses.