THE ROLE OF DOMESTIC LAWNS AND ROADSIDE VERGES IN CARBON SEQUESTRATION: A CASE STUDY FROM SAHIWAL CITY (PAKISTAN)

Plants and soils of domestic lawns and roadside verges are significant components of urban green infrastructure and provide a range of ecosystem services including carbon sequestration.This study was aimed at assessing the potential of domestic lawns and roadside verges for carbon sequestration and was performed in the city of Sahiwal in Pakistan.The soils had around 8 pH; bulk density was higher in domestic lawn that of roadside verge soils.The soil depth had no significant effect on pH and bulk density.Organic matter in domestic lawn soils was 1.48% and 1.2% in roadside verges soils.In grass turf soils surface samples had higher organic matter and organic carbon content, as did subsurface samples under trees.There were considerable variations in soil organic carbon from both domestic lawn and roadside verges, and the highest organic carbon values were observed in lawns at a depth of 11-20 cm and the lowest at roadsides at depth of 0-10 cm.The results suggest that both habitats can play an important role in carbon storage, a true ecosystem service in times of ongoing climate change, especially in cities with dry and warm climates.