Research on Promoting Carbon Sequestration of Urban Green Space Distribution Characteristics and Planting Design Models in Xi’an

Urban green space is considered to reduce the concentration of forcing factors of climate change such as the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Promoting carbon sequestration efficiency within a limited urban green space has become a practical challenge that must be faced in urban sustainability. This study proposed three design models and a list of high carbon sequestration plants. Based on the research on the distribution and change in carbon sequestration in urban green spaces, combined with field surveys and remote sensing images, this study analyzed the main factors affecting carbon sequestration. The results showed that the carbon sequestration capacity in urban green space tends to decrease gradually along with the change in forest structure in a time series of the years 2000, 2007, 2014, and 2019, and this trend was mainly related to the characteristic factors of plant communities in urban green spaces: the carbon sequestration of plants was significantly positively correlated with DBH (diameter at breast height) and community density; positively correlated with hierarchical structure. In addition, we put forward a list of plants with high carbon sequestration, including Styphnolobium japonicum, Salix babylonica, Pittosporum tobira, Spiraea salicifolia, and Iris pseudacorus, proposed three planting design models for different green spaces and habitats to improve the efficiency of carbon sequestration in urban green spaces, and established the community structure models of high carbon-fixing plants which can be directly applied to practical projects. It also explored the sustainable design approach of ecological processes in low-carbon cities.