Carbon sequestration estimates of indigenous street trees in the City of Tshwane, South Africa

Abstract

Amelioration of global warming presents opportunities for urban forests to act as carbon sinks, and thereby could possibly be included in the potential future carbon trade industry. The City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality provided a strategy in 2002 to plant 115,200 indigenous street trees in the period 2002–2008. These trees hold a monetary carbon value in their potential future growth. In order to calculate the carbon sequestration potential, the growth rates of Combretum erythrophyllum, Searsia lancea and Searsia pendulina were determined. Combined species growth regressions of C. erythrophyllum– S. lancea and S. lancea– S. pendulina are also presented. Combretum erythrophyllum has the fastest growth rate while those of S. lancea and S. pendulina are slower. The results from growth regression relationships were used in a generic allometric biomass regression to calculate the carbon sequestration rate of each species, which was extrapolated to determine the total quantity of carbon to be sequestrated by the street trees over a 30-year period (2002–2032). It is estimated that the tree planting will result in 200,492 tonnes CO 2 equivalent reduction and that 54,630 tonnes carbon will be sequestrated. The carbon dioxide reductions could be valued at more than US$ 3,000,000. But this estimate should also be viewed in the context of the limitations presented in this study. This illustrates that when future carbon trade becomes operational for urban forests these forests could become a valuable source of revenue for the urban forestry industry, especially in developing countries.