Carbon Fraction of 51 Native Shrubs in Urban Green Spaces in Korea: A Comparative Study of Evergreen, Deciduous, and Vines

Background and objective: Sequestering carbon from the atmosphere is becoming increasingly important in the fight against climate change. Urban green spaces are increasingly recognized as effective carbon sinks, and many cities are striving to achieve carbon neutrality. carbon statistics for trees and shrubs are essential to attaining this goal and enhancing the carbon uptake capacity of urban green spaces.Methods: Historically, carbon studies have primarily focused on forest trees; however, as urban green spaces have expanded in recent years, research on shrubs utilized in these areas is gradually increasing. This study aims to measure the carbon fraction of representative native shrubs in urban green spaces in Korea.Results: The carbon fraction was compared by component, including evergreen (n = 325) and deciduous (n = 911) shrubs, as well as standard shrubs (n = 1279) and vines (n = 45). The results indicated that evergreen shrubs contained a higher carbon fraction than deciduous shrubs (p < .05), and standard shrubs exhibited a greater carbon fraction than vines (p < .05). Furthermore, biomass allocation shifted from leaves and roots to stems as shrubs aged, with deciduous shrubs allocating more biomass to roots than evergreens.Conclusion: These results can be integrated with dry weight measurements for each shrub species to estimate carbon storage, providing crucial data to inform spatial planning and species selection for maximizing carbon sequestration.