by MW Strohbach, D Haase

Landscape and Urban Planning 104:95-104

2012

This study aimed to estimate the tree canopy cover and the aboveground carbon storage of trees in Leipzig, Germany. Study plots were randomly chosen, stratified across 19 land cover classes. Within a 15-m-radius circle around each plot point, the species and dbh of dead and living trees greater than 5 cm in dbh were determined. Biomass was calculated with allometric equations. Canopy cover was determined from color-infrared photos and a machine learning algorithm was used for classification. The Random Forest classifier was used to distinguish tree vs not tree. The total carbon storage of Leipzig’s urban forest was estimated as 316,000 t C (an average of 11 t C/ha). Carbon storage was highest at intermediate levels of urban density (lowest in highly urbanized areas and in rural areas, which are predominantly agricultural). Canopy cover was approximately 19%. Comparisons with other cities in Europe and the United States are given.

Region: Leipzig, Germany
Publication Type: Journal article
Keywords: aerial and satellite imagery, carbon sequestration, field study, land cover, machine learning, tree canopy cover, and urban forestry