Science
2026-03-03
According to the model, among all vegetation types, urban trees make the greatest contribution to offsetting carbon dioxide emissions in cities. On some summer days, their absorption can cover the emissions from Munich's urban traffic and even exceed them at times. Because soil respiration exceeds photosynthesis, grassy areas release more carbon dioxide than they bind and are therefore considered a source of CO₂ on an annual basis. Jia Chen, professor of environmental sensing and modeling, and her doctoral student Junwei Li conducted biospheric field measurements in urban parks from April 2024 to February 2025, to validate their model results.
Trees as CO₂ sinks, grasslands ...