- A typical hardwood sequesters 48 pounds of carbon per year. That’s one ton by the time the tree is forty years old. The average US resident emits 20 pounds of carbon per year. https://www.co2meter.com/blogs/news/could-global-co2-levels-be-reduced-by-planting-trees
- Trees can mitigate the heat island effect in urban areas. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/242139673_Mitigating_New_York_City%27s_heat_island_with_urban_forestry_living_roofs_and_light_surfaces
- Most of the prairie’s carbon sequestration happens below ground, where prairie roots can dig into the soil to depths up to 15 feet and more. https://www.fws.gov/news/blog/index.cfm/2011/6/27/iowa-the-power-of-prairies
- Plants and soils together currently absorb an estimated 30 percent of the CO2 emitted by human activities each year. Predicting how the underground portion of this carbon sink will change in the coming decades is important because carbon absorbed by soil tends to stay there for a long time. https://news.stanford.edu/press/view/38728
- Use mulch to control weeds and conserve moisture. Mulch reduces the contact between the organic material and the soil so that the organisms will take longer to break it down. If the mulch is left in place from year to year, the soil will be conserved and supplied with nutrients and this long-term view will retain carbon in that garden or flower bed. Sources of mulch can be grass, leaves, composted garden waste or straw. https://soilsmatter.wordpress.com/2018/08/15/how-can-i-help-my-soil-hold-more-carbon/
- Another way we can change the amount of carbon stored in soil is to promote techniques that reduce the release of carbon from the soil into the atmosphere. One example is “no-till” farming, in which farm-seeding equipment inserts crop seeds into slits cut into the undisturbed soil. Farmers have reported that no-till agricultural practices delivered savings in just 2 to 3 years and increased crop yields by 10 percent. It also reduced fossil-fuel use for farm machinery by 90 percent. https://kidsgardening.org/soil-can-help-fight-climate-change-kids-need-to-get-dirty-and-learn-about-soil/
- Cultivated soils have lost 50-70 percent of their original carbon stock, much of it oxidized upon exposure to air to become CO2 https://e360.yale.edu/features/soil_as_carbon_storehouse_new_weapon_in_climate_fight
- Soil carbon is the result of interactions among living plants, fungi, bacteria, and other soil organisms. Through photosynthesis, plants use energy in sunlight to convert carbon dioxide and water to the sugar glucose that they need to survive and grow. Some of this liquid form of carbon, along with amino acids and other compounds, is also secreted by their roots, feeding soil organisms and promoting the production of humus, the dark organic matter that is the foundation of soil fertility. Humus, which is 60 percent carbon, can remain in undisturbed soils for hundreds or even thousands of years before eventually decomposing and releasing its carbon back to the atmosphere.
- Of the estimated 29 billion gallons of water used daily by households in the United States, more than 8.5 billion, or 30 percent, is devoted to outdoor water use. In dry climates, a household’s outdoor water use can be as high as 60 percent. The majority of this is used for landscaping. https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2017-01/documents/ws-outdoor-water-efficient-landscaping.pdf and
- Because native plants are adapted to local soils and climate conditions, they generally require less watering than non-natives. They do not require fertilizers and require fewer pesticides than lawns https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/Native_Plant_Materials/Native_Gardening/index.shtml
- Naturally dense native plant communities can also buffer severe storms. Roots and shoots absorb energy from wind and water, lessening storm strength and damage. https://vnps.org/save-plants-save-the-planet-save-ourselves-native-plants-and-nature-based-solutions-to-climate-change-and-other-threats-to-humanity/
- Plant diversity increases soil microbial activity and carbon storage https://escholarship.org/content/qt8k01z7v8/qt8k01z7v8.pdf