Planting trees is one of the simplest and most effective ways to combat climate change, and many companies use tree planting to offset carbon emissions. However, when taking this approach, it is essential to ensure that the trees planted will effectively store sufficient amounts of carbon.
Planting location is a key factor. Trees must be planted where they can live for decades and properly absorb carbon from the air.
Although tree planting is one of the simplest strategies for capturing carbon, it must be executed properly. Strategic, well-planned planting allows for more precise carbon management and offsetting.
Research can help urban planners and environmentalists determine exactly which tree species are needed and where they can best improve local air quality.
Artificial Intelligence
Using Manhattan in New York City as a test site, IBM researchers developed a process to accurately identify, map, and measure the amount of carbon that trees in a specific area can store.
The study considers species, geometric shape, and canopy volume. For example, researchers calculated that Manhattan's trees store 52,000 tons of carbon, while also identifying the specific effectiveness of certain species and where particular types of trees would be most beneficial.
This unique insight into Earth's vegetation carbon storage capacity was made possible through machine learning and IBM's geospatial data analytics platform, PAIRS, which aggregates and analyzes large volumes of aerial imagery, alongside LiDAR—light detection and ranging data used to create highly accurate, high-resolution terrain elevation models.
Via CicloVivo.
This article was written by Romullo Baratto. The translation is powered by AI.
