Carbon Storage In Street Trees of Manchester, NH Chris Hall & Alix Contosta Introduction Research Question Site Location & Methodology Site Selection Used ARC GIS & USDA Forest Service i-Tree Streets protocols to create a random sample of street segments (Figures 3 & 5) Field Sampling Street tree measurements taken for all trees with diameters of 5 cm or greater (Figure 4) DBH, species, and location data recorded “Street tree” defined as those within 3.05 m (10 ft) of city street (per Manchester right of way guidelines) Data Analysis Modeled C stocks using i-Tree Analyzed C stocks as a function of housing age and population density Through storage of carbon and other factors, urban trees mitigate the effects of climate change, but these trees are often disregarded because their role in carbon cycling is not well understood or quantified (Nowak 2013). Urban areas in the contiguous United States have grown and are expected to increase by 8.1% by 2050 (Nowak and Walton 2005). Given this growth, urban trees have the potential to store significant amounts of carbon (Nowak 2013). Objective: gain a better understanding of the factors influencing carbon storage in urban trees. How does carbon storage in urban trees vary with regard to population density and housing age? Figure 1: Housing Age for Manchester, NH Figure 2: Population Density for Manchester, NH Results & Discussion Figure 3: Random Street Segments Map Figure 4: Sampling Street Trees Figure 5: Field Sampling Map Figure 8: Percent Carbon Storage for Manchester Trees by Species (representing top 85% of total C stored) Figure 6: Average Carbon Stock by Population Density Category Literature Cited Preliminary data do not support a connection between carbon storage in street trees and housing age or population density (Figures 6 & 7). Carbon storage may vary more by tree species (Figure 8). Further sampling may be needed to determine any potential patterns in street tree carbon storage. Figure 7: Average Carbon Stock by Housing Age Category Nowak, D.J. (1993) Atmospheric carbon reduction by urban trees. Journal of Environmental Management 37 (3), 207-217. Nowak, D.J., E. Greenfield, R. Hoehn, and E. Lapoint (2013) Carbon storage and sequestration by trees in urban and community areas of the United States. Environmental Pollution, 178, 229-236. Nowak, D.J., Walton, J.T. (2005) Projected urban growth and its estimated impact on the U.S. Forest resource (2000-2050). Journal of Forestry 103 (8), 383-389. Acknowledgements – This research was supported with funding from the National Science Foundation’s grant to NH EPSCoR (ENG-1101245).