Dataset of the Contribution of Urban Forests Ecosystem Services in Climate Change Mitigation: A Case Study in the City of Santos - Brazil
Description
The increase of urban forest areas through planting actions can be an action that helps in mitigating climate change. However, the focus of the formulation of urban climate policies remains on purely technical measures, with the use of innovative technologies, fuel composition requirements, energy efficiency and actions that encourage the use of renewable energy sources, and the potential of urban forests is largely overlooked by urban climate policymakers. This study aimed to evaluate the potential of the mitigating ecosystem service provided by an urban forest fragment (3065 trees) from the city of Santos/SP - Brazil, using the set of mathematical models i-Tree Eco to estimate the annual sequestration and storage of CO2, in addition to valuing the ecosystem service provided. In addition, predictions of the behavior of the fragment were made in the face of scenarios of non-planting (scenario 1), planting of 100 trees/year (scenario 2) and planting of 300 trees/year (scenario 3), during the next 30 years. The results showed that the fragment presents moderate species diversity (H ́ = 3.409) and 54% of them originated from South America. It was estimated that the trees present in this study sequester 114.61 tons of CO2 per year and store 1655.17 tons of CO2, representing a measured value of R$ 259,043.91/year and R$ 3,740,915.92, respectively, taking into account the Social Cost of Global Carbon. Regarding the forecasts, only scenario 3 (planting of 300 trees/year) presented a higher number of tree individuals (6638 trees) after 30 years, however only the scenario that did not predict planting (scenario 1) presented a lower rate of sequestration (110.87 TonCO2/year) than the initial one (114.61 TonCO2/year). This work contributed vehemently to the scientific discussion about the mitigating potential of urban forests in the face of climate change, providing valuable information that can assist environmental policymakers in climate management and urban forests, recognizing that trees can express monetary value and corroborating their importance to society, which is an additional instrument for environmental policies.