Evaluation of Carbon Storage and Sequestration Ecosystem Services of of Urban Green Infrastructures in Metropolitan Areas: A Case Study of the Tabriz Metropolis

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Faculty of Planning and Environmental Sciences, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

Abstract

Objective: Over the past decades, urban development patterns and changes and transformations of urban land use have caused climate change and increased greenhouse gases, especially in metropolitan areas. The continuation of this trend has caused changes in the flow of ecosystem services, including carbon storage and sequestration. The reduction of ecosystem services negatively impacts the well-being and quality of life of citizens. In this regard, urban green infrastructures play a special and important role in carbon storage and sequestration. Therefore, the purpose of the present study is to evaluate the ecosystem service of carbon storage and sequestration of green infrastructures in the Tabriz metropolitan area.
Method: In this study, using data related to Landsat satellite images, land use/land cover, biophysical tables, GIS, and InVEST software, the ecosystem services of carbon storage and sequestration of the green infrastructure of Tabriz metropolis were evaluated.
Results: The findings showed that the Tabriz metropolis was able to store about 26155.15, 26154.62, and 26151.03 tons of carbon per hectare during 1984, 2002, and 2022, respectively. This indicated that the capacity of the Tabriz metropolitan area to store carbon gradually decreased. Also, the Tabriz metropolitan area was able to sequester 26154.62, 26151.03, and 26154.62 tons of carbon during the periods of 1984-2002, 2002-2022, and 2022-2040, equivalent to 261.55, 261.51, and 261.51 million dollars in economic value, respectively. In all three periods, the Tabriz metropolitan was able to sequester most of the carbon it had stored, but its negative sequestration was much more effective than the positive sequestration. In other words, the situation of Tabriz metropolitan was worsened in the study period in terms of carbon sequestration.
Conclusions: The results showed that land use/land cover played an important and special role in carbon storage and sequestration in Tabriz. In the case of carbon storage capacity of the Tabriz metropolitan area during the three mentioned time periods, the following land uses played the most important role, i.e., green spaces and bare lands. Carbon sequestration, especially positive carbon sequestration, in the Tabriz metropolitan area was unbalanced and heterogeneous in all 3 mentioned time periods. Most parts of the Tabriz city had negative sequestration, and only limited parts in the northwest and southeast of the city and the western parts of Tabriz had positive sequestration.

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References

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Journal of Environmental Studies
Volume 51, Issue 3
December 2025
Pages 313-334

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