EcoWatch
Facebook 573k Twitter 238k Instagram 37k Subscribe Subscribe
  • Climate
  • Energy
  • Policy
  • Renewables
  • Culture
  • Science
  • Go Solar Today
      • Top Companies By State
        • California Solar Companies
        • Texas Solar Companies
        • New York Solar Companies
        • Florida Solar Companies
        • See All States
      • Top Incentives By State
        • California Solar Incentives
        • Texas Solar Incentives
        • New York Solar Incentives
        • Florida Solar Incentives
        • See All States
      • Solar Panel Costs By State
        • Solar Panel Costs in California
        • Solar Panel Costs in Texas
        • Solar Panel Costs in New York
        • Solar Panel Costs in Florida
        • See All States
      • Value of Solar by State
        • Is Solar Worth It In California?
        • Is Solar Worth It in Texas?
        • Is Solar Worth It New York?
        • Is Solar Worth It In Florida?
        • See All States
      • Company Reviews
        • Tesla Solar Review
        • Sunrun Solar Review
        • SunPower Solar Review
        • Vivint Solar Review
        • See All Companies
      • Common Solar Questions
        • Can You Get Free Solar Panels?
        • Does Solar Increase Home Value?
        • What’re The Best Solar Batteries?
        • Can You Finance Solar?
        • Where To Buy Solar Panels?
        • Payback On Solar Panels?
      • Solar Resources
        • Interactive Solar Calculator
        • Federal Solar Tax Credit 2023
        • Best Solar Panels For Most Homes
        • Tesla Solar Roof Review
        • Cheapest Solar Panels
      • Companies Compared
        • SunPower vs Tesla Solar
        • SunRun vs Tesla Solar
        • SunRun vs SunPower
        • SunPower vs Momentum Solar
        • SunPower vs ADT Solar
EcoWatch
  • Climate
  • Energy
  • Policy
  • Renewables
  • Culture
  • Science
  • Go Solar Today
    • Go Solar Today
    • Top Companies By State
      • California Solar Companies
      • Texas Solar Companies
      • New York Solar Companies
      • Florida Solar Companies
      • See All States
    • Top Incentives By State
      • California Solar Incentives
      • Texas Solar Incentives
      • New York Solar Incentives
      • Florida Solar Incentives
      • See All States
    • Solar Panel Costs By State
      • Solar Panel Costs in California
      • Solar Panel Costs in Texas
      • Solar Panel Costs in New York
      • Solar Panel Costs in Florida
      • See All States
    • Value of Solar by State
      • Is Solar Worth It In California?
      • Is Solar Worth It in Texas?
      • Is Solar Worth It New York?
      • Is Solar Worth It In Florida?
      • See All States
    • Company Reviews
      • Tesla Solar Review
      • Sunrun Solar Review
      • SunPower Solar Review
      • Vivint Solar Review
      • See All Companies
    • Common Solar Questions
      • Can You Get Free Solar Panels?
      • Does Solar Increase Home Value?
      • What’re The Best Solar Batteries?
      • Can You Finance Solar?
      • Where To Buy Solar Panels?
      • Payback On Solar Panels?
    • Solar Resources
      • Interactive Solar Calculator
      • Federal Solar Tax Credit 2023
      • Best Solar Panels For Most Homes
      • Tesla Solar Roof Review
      • Cheapest Solar Panels
    • Companies Compared
      • SunPower vs Tesla Solar
      • SunRun vs Tesla Solar
      • SunRun vs SunPower
      • SunPower vs Momentum Solar
      • SunPower vs ADT Solar

The best of EcoWatch right in your inbox. Sign up for our email newsletter!

    • About EcoWatch
    • Contact EcoWatch
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Learn About Solar Energy
    Facebook 573k Twitter 238k Instagram 37k
    EcoWatch
    • About EcoWatch
    • Contact EcoWatch
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Learn About Solar Energy
    Facebook 573k Twitter 238k Instagram 37k
    Home Climate

    New York City’s Vehicle Emissions Get Absorbed by Its Greenery on Many Summer Days, Study Finds

    By: Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
    Published: January 6, 2023
    Edited by Chris McDermott
    Facebook icon Twitter icon Pinterest icon Email icon
    An aerial view of New York City including Central Park
    An aerial view of New York City. Nisian Hughes / DigitalVision / Getty Images
    Why you can trust us

    Founded in 2005 as an Ohio-based environmental newspaper, EcoWatch is a digital platform dedicated to publishing quality, science-based content on environmental issues, causes, and solutions.

    Facebook icon Twitter icon Pinterest icon Email icon

    A recent study of New York City’s vegetation found that a remarkable amount of the city’s vehicle carbon emissions — plus that of some neighboring areas — are absorbed by grasses and trees. On many summer days not only are all of the carbon dioxide emissions from buses, cars and trucks soaked up by the area’s greenery, but some additional emissions are as well.

    The study used high resolution local vegetation maps to record small areas of greenery that had been previously overlooked, some in highly developed areas, a press release from Columbia Climate School said. The researchers found that the photosynthetic process of the greenery is contributing a great deal to the exchange of carbon dioxide emissions for sugars and oxygen.

    More From EcoWatch
    • New York Electricity Rates and Providers
    • Is Solar Worth It in New York?
    • Sustainable Home Improvements You Can Make Now

    “There is a lot more greenery than we thought, and that’s what drives our conclusion,” said postdoctoral researcher at the Columbia Climate School’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Dandan Wei, who was lead author of the study, reported Yale E360. “This tells us that the ecosystem matters in New York City, and if it matters here, it probably matters everywhere else.”

    Urban areas produce more than 70 percent of the carbon dioxide emitted by humans, with New York City being the third biggest emitter of the greenhouse gas in the world and the biggest in the U.S., the press release said.

    The study, “High resolution modeling of vegetation reveals large summertime biogenic CO2 fluxes in New York City,” was published in the journal Environmental Research Letters.

    In earlier studies, scientists have mostly examined contiguous areas of grassland and forest, which make up only about 10 percent of the city.

    The new aerial radar images used by the researchers mapped the city’s vegetation in six-inch grids that included areas left out in previous representations, like vacant lots, single trees on streets, backyard gardens and other small locations. Around one third of the 837.8 square mile total study area extended beyond New York City’s five boroughs and was split up into approximately 98-foot grids.

    “Most people have assumed that New York City is just a grey box, that it’s biogenically dead,” said Lamont-Doherty atmospheric chemist Roísín Commane, a co-author of the paper, in the press release. “But just because there’s a concrete sidewalk somewhere doesn’t mean there’s not also a tree that’s shading it.”

    The researchers found that 22 percent of New York City — or 65.64 square miles — is covered by trees, and about 12 percent — or 36.29 square miles — is blanketed in grasses.

    In order to determine how all of this greenery affected the city’s carbon dioxide emissions, the researchers looked at data from June to August of 2018, when the New York metro area produced about 14.7 million tons of carbon.

    The study found that the biggest carbon dioxide emitters were vehicles and the energy used by buildings. Commane said the average carbon dioxide levels in New York City are frequently 460 parts per million or more, while the global average is about 417.

    According to the study, these levels would be greater if it wasn’t for the greenery. In the developed parts of the city it was responsible for almost 85 percent of the daily carbon absorption.

    The study found that on a high number of summer days, 40 percent of the carbon emissions from all sources was absorbed. Carbon levels were found to increase in the morning and decrease some in the afternoon. Wei said in cities with climates warmer than New York, vegetation most likely has an even bigger effect.

    The research team has plans to expand their study of the city’s trees to species types in order to uncover their specific benefits. Oaks are common in the region, but have been determined to produce a compound — isoprene — that reacts with vehicle emissions to produce the air pollutant ozone.

    “More trees are always going to be better, no matter what they are,” Wei said in the press release. “But we could use an assessment of which ones are the best.”

    Subscribe to get exclusive updates in our daily newsletter!

      By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy & to receive electronic communications from EcoWatch Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content.

      Cristen Hemingway Jaynes

      Cristen is a writer of fiction and nonfiction. She holds a JD and an Ocean & Coastal Law Certificate from University of Oregon School of Law and an MA in Creative Writing from Birkbeck, University of London. She is the author of the short story collection The Smallest of Entryways, as well as the travel biography, Ernest’s Way: An International Journey Through Hemingway’s Life.
      Facebook icon Twitter icon Pinterest icon Email icon

      Read More

      Major Polluters U.S. and China Not Invited to Speak at UN Climate Ambition Summit
      The United Nations Climate Ambition Summit in New York today
      By Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
      Scientists Find Direct Link Between Polar Bear Cub Survival Rates and Human-Caused Carbon Emissions
      A new study has found a direct link between human-caused
      By Paige Bennett
      London's Ultra Low Emission Zone Expands to Entire City
      To reduce traffic emissions in the City of London, Mayor
      By Cristen Hemingway Jaynes

      Subscribe to get exclusive updates in our daily newsletter!

        By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy & to receive electronic communications from EcoWatch Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content.

        Latest Articles

        • Shading Corals Four Hours a Day Could Slow Bleaching, Scientists Find
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          September 22, 2023
        • Wildlife Living in Cities Exemplify ‘Urban Trait Syndrome,’ Study Says
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          September 22, 2023
        • Drought Drives Biggest Southern African Elephant Migration Since 2019
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          September 22, 2023
        • Extreme Heat 101: Everything You Need to Know
          by Olivia Rosane
          September 22, 2023
        • White Rhino Population in Africa Increases for First Time Since 2012
          by Paige Bennett
          September 22, 2023
        • Sewage Release Is Worse for Rivers Than Agricultural Runoff, Study Finds
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          September 21, 2023
        • Who’s to Blame for the Climate Crisis? Journalist Amy Westervelt Is on the Case
          by Olivia Rosane
          September 21, 2023
        • California Orders Bottled Water Company to Stop Drawing From Natural Springs Needed for Wildlife Habitat and Wildfire Protection
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          September 21, 2023
        EcoWatch

        The best of EcoWatch right in your inbox. Sign up for our email newsletter!

          • Climate Climate
          • Animals Animals
          • Health + Wellness Health + Wellness
          • Insights + Opinion Insights + Opinion
          • Adventure Adventure
          • Oceans Oceans
          • Business Business
          • Solar Solar
          • About EcoWatch
          • Contact EcoWatch
          • EcoWatch Reviews
          • Terms of Use
          • Privacy Policy
          • Learn About Solar Energy
          • Learn About Deregulated Energy
          • EcoWatch UK
          Follow Us
          Facebook 573k
          Twitter 238k
          Instagram 37k
          Subscribe Subscribe

          Experts for a healthier planet and life.

          Mentioned by:
          Learn more
          • Privacy Policy
          • Terms of Use
          • Cookie Preferences
          • Do Not Sell My Information
          © 2023 EcoWatch. All Rights Reserved.