Tree species for urban parks and roadside based on carbon storage, sequestration and maintenance in Iskandar Malaysia

Urbanisation triggers high carbon emission and exacerbates global warming. Trees play a significant role to tackle these problems as they provide vital ecosystem services including carbon storage and sequestration. However, trees vary in their ability to provide these services and there is little in...

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Main Author: Abdullah, Rohayu
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: 2019
Subjects:
Online Access:http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/81687/1/RohayuAbdullahMFABU2019.pdf
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spelling my-utm-ep.816872019-09-12T00:19:28Z Tree species for urban parks and roadside based on carbon storage, sequestration and maintenance in Iskandar Malaysia 2019 Abdullah, Rohayu NA Architecture Urbanisation triggers high carbon emission and exacerbates global warming. Trees play a significant role to tackle these problems as they provide vital ecosystem services including carbon storage and sequestration. However, trees vary in their ability to provide these services and there is little information on how actual carbon storage and sequestration by trees could be estimated particularly in the tropical region. Furthermore, trees with low endurance rate and unhealthy ones can be harmful to properties and human lives as well as overhanging branches can obscure streetlights, signs and traffic signals and affect road users’ vision in the vicinity. These situations contribute to the cumulative maintenance burden to the local authority. This research aims to select types of urban tree species suitable for urban parks and roadsides based on their capacity to store and sequester carbon, and ease of maintenance in Iskandar Malaysia. Field data of 2,245 urban trees were collected from two local authorities, namely Johor Bahru City Council and Pasir Gudang Municipal Council. Allometric equations were used to estimate carbon storage and sequestration. The findings showed that Pterocarpus indicus, Alstonia angustifolia, Syzygium grande, Pongamia pinnata and Hopea odorata stored (2,019, 1,531, 615, 321 and 244 kg tree-1, respectively) and sequestered (78, 61, 30, 17 and 13 kg tree-1 year-1, respectively) the highest carbon in comparison to other species. In addition, a questionnaire survey was also conducted to gain detailed information about tree maintenance from professionals including urban planners, landscape architects and certified arborists. Results showed that Pongamia pinnata had the highest score of 94, followed by Syzygium grande (91), Alstonia angustifolia (90), Hopea odorata (90) and Pterocarpus indicus (83). Hence, these are the most suitable tree species to be planted at urban parks and roadsides because of their high capacity to store and sequester carbon and their low maintenance as shown by the local authorities. This study has shown ways to assess the actual role of urban trees in reducing carbon and mitigate climate change as well as reduce the burden of maintenance for local authorities and decision makers. The implication would be better management plans for urban forestry in Malaysia for the future. 2019 Thesis http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/81687/ http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/81687/1/RohayuAbdullahMFABU2019.pdf application/pdf en public http://dms.library.utm.my:8080/vital/access/manager/Repository/vital:126569 masters Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Built Environment
institution Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
collection UTM Institutional Repository
language English
topic NA Architecture
spellingShingle NA Architecture
Abdullah, Rohayu
Tree species for urban parks and roadside based on carbon storage, sequestration and maintenance in Iskandar Malaysia
description Urbanisation triggers high carbon emission and exacerbates global warming. Trees play a significant role to tackle these problems as they provide vital ecosystem services including carbon storage and sequestration. However, trees vary in their ability to provide these services and there is little information on how actual carbon storage and sequestration by trees could be estimated particularly in the tropical region. Furthermore, trees with low endurance rate and unhealthy ones can be harmful to properties and human lives as well as overhanging branches can obscure streetlights, signs and traffic signals and affect road users’ vision in the vicinity. These situations contribute to the cumulative maintenance burden to the local authority. This research aims to select types of urban tree species suitable for urban parks and roadsides based on their capacity to store and sequester carbon, and ease of maintenance in Iskandar Malaysia. Field data of 2,245 urban trees were collected from two local authorities, namely Johor Bahru City Council and Pasir Gudang Municipal Council. Allometric equations were used to estimate carbon storage and sequestration. The findings showed that Pterocarpus indicus, Alstonia angustifolia, Syzygium grande, Pongamia pinnata and Hopea odorata stored (2,019, 1,531, 615, 321 and 244 kg tree-1, respectively) and sequestered (78, 61, 30, 17 and 13 kg tree-1 year-1, respectively) the highest carbon in comparison to other species. In addition, a questionnaire survey was also conducted to gain detailed information about tree maintenance from professionals including urban planners, landscape architects and certified arborists. Results showed that Pongamia pinnata had the highest score of 94, followed by Syzygium grande (91), Alstonia angustifolia (90), Hopea odorata (90) and Pterocarpus indicus (83). Hence, these are the most suitable tree species to be planted at urban parks and roadsides because of their high capacity to store and sequester carbon and their low maintenance as shown by the local authorities. This study has shown ways to assess the actual role of urban trees in reducing carbon and mitigate climate change as well as reduce the burden of maintenance for local authorities and decision makers. The implication would be better management plans for urban forestry in Malaysia for the future.
format Thesis
qualification_level Master's degree
author Abdullah, Rohayu
author_facet Abdullah, Rohayu
author_sort Abdullah, Rohayu
title Tree species for urban parks and roadside based on carbon storage, sequestration and maintenance in Iskandar Malaysia
title_short Tree species for urban parks and roadside based on carbon storage, sequestration and maintenance in Iskandar Malaysia
title_full Tree species for urban parks and roadside based on carbon storage, sequestration and maintenance in Iskandar Malaysia
title_fullStr Tree species for urban parks and roadside based on carbon storage, sequestration and maintenance in Iskandar Malaysia
title_full_unstemmed Tree species for urban parks and roadside based on carbon storage, sequestration and maintenance in Iskandar Malaysia
title_sort tree species for urban parks and roadside based on carbon storage, sequestration and maintenance in iskandar malaysia
granting_institution Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
granting_department Built Environment
publishDate 2019
url http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/81687/1/RohayuAbdullahMFABU2019.pdf
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