An integrated approach to improving fossil fuel emissions scenarios with urban ecosystem studies

The future trajectory of fossil fuel emissions is one of the largest uncertainties in predicting climate change. While global emissions scenarios are ultimately of interest for climate modeling, many of the factors that influence energy and fuel consumption operate on a local rather than global level. However, there have been relatively few comprehensive studies of the ecological and socioeconomic processes that will determine the future trajectory of net carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions at local and regional scales. We conducted an interdisciplinary, whole ecosystem study of the role of climate, urban expansion, urban form, transportation, and the urban forest in influencing net CO2 emissions in the Salt Lake Valley,...

Categories: Publication; Types: Citation; Tags: Biocomplexity, CO2 emissions, Carbon dioxide, Mediated modeling, Urban ecology