Cornell Botanic Gardens
Nature-based solutions bring us closer to a carbon neutral campus
Edwards Lake Cliffs Natural Area, Brian Maley
In the face of a changing climate carbon sequestration is among the most valued and readily measured ecosystem service. Carbon sequestration is the process of capturing, securing, and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide long-term. Cornell has set a bold goal of becoming a carbon neutral campus by 2035, and utilizing mission-linked carbon offsets is one of the primary actions identified in the University’s Climate Action Plan to meet the neutrality goal.
Please scroll down to explore how Cornell Botanic Gardens’ Natural Areas on and around the Cornell campus are capturing carbon at this very moment, how we know how much, and its impact.
Calculating Carbon Capture
To determine the Gardens’ annual carbon sequestration rate, we analyzed and mapped all plant community types across all of our holdings following the classification system in Ecological Communities of New York State.
We utilized multiple spatial datasets that illuminate features in the landscape that influence what types of local plant communities can establish on a given area. On this map you see aerial imagery, topography, streams, and national, state, and local wetlands.
Land-use history, such as clearing for agriculture or timber harvests, can influence plant community types. Therefore in this map we layered in land ownership data, soil classifications, and first-hand knowledge from expert staff to classify, age, and map the plant community types.
What we found was a tapestry of 31 different plant community types, which represent the full range of ecological communities found in the Finger Lakes region.
Once we determined a baseline for our forests, meadows, wetlands, and gorges, we determined the carbon sequestration capacity for each.
Dr. David Weinstein
In this step we partnered with David Weinstein, a visiting scientist in the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment at CALS, and assigned carbon sequestration rates for comparable community types and age classes based on locally collected data and published sources in order to determine the number of metric tons of carbon sequestered per acre.
Happening All Around Us
The natural area around Beebe Lake is an active floodplain of Fall Creek. The woods around Beebe Lake has rich soils and has been known historically for its high diversity of native and naturalized plants, abundant wildflowers, and rare species.
The 49-acres of forests and wetlands surrounding iconic Beebe Lake give us both beauty and carbon capture, sequestering 81.2 metric tons of CO 2 annually.
Drag the arrows left and right to see the plant community types draped over the aerial images.
Edwards Lake Cliffs protects one of the rarest environments in the local region – the lake cliffs – as well as Shurger Glen, a forested ravine and winding gorge with breathtaking waterfalls, scenic views and rare species.
The forests, shrub habitats, and meadows at the 84-acre Edwards Lake Cliffs sequester 230 metric tons of CO 2 annually.
The Fischer Old-growth Forest is the best of the few remaining examples of pre-European settlement forest in the region. It is notable for both the extreme size of many individual trees, as well as 23 different tree species of canopy size.
The 101-acre Fischer Old-growth Forest Natural Area, which also includes meadows and young forests, sequester 292 metric tons of CO 2 annually.
The Big Picture
The analysis determined that, in aggregate, Cornell Botanic Gardens is responsible for sequestering 10,685 metric tons of CO 2 each year. This is equivalent to:
– 20% of the University’s land-based carbon sequestration goal, or – 5.2% of the University’s total carbon emissions, or – 40% of faculty and staff vehicle commuting or 43% of air travel carbon emissions, or – Equivalent carbon offsets, if purchased, would cost nearly $228,000
But the value of the Gardens’ carbon offsets is even greater when considering all the social, economic, and environmental benefits these natural areas provide. A study conducted by the International Carbon Reduction and Offset Alliance (ICROA) quantified these additional values.
The ICROA found that every ton of carbon reduced yields an additional value of $664 in ecosystem services. This raises the value of the Botanic Garden’s benefits to Cornell and the broader community to a staggering $7.1 million annually.
Learn more. Take action.
Planting trees for the future
In response to climate change, forest pests, and invasive species that are negatively impacting the biodiversity of the landscapes we steward and cultivate, we established the Future Forests Initiative to plant a variety of native trees and shrubs to increase forest health and resilience. You can help by making a donation or volunteering to help plant and maintain trees.
Demonstrating climate impacts and sustainability
Learn more about climate change and its potential impact on native and cultivated plants at the Gardens’ Climate Change Garden or about sustainable landscape practices, design and green infrastructure along the University’s Sustainable Landscapes Trail .
Connecting people, plants, and cultures
Cornell Botanic Gardens stewards and manages 3,725 acres of biologically diverse landscapes in central New York to support research and teaching at Cornell University and beyond. This system of natural areas represent the full range of ecological communities found in the Finger Lakes region, each shaped by its geological history, bedrock, soils, topography, hydrology, as well as humans, plants, animals, and other life. Learn more at cornellbotanicgardens.org .
Sources
- Bernal, B., Mitsch, W. (2012) Comparing carbon sequestration in temperate freshwater wetland communities, Glob Change Biol, 18: 1636-1647. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2011.02619.
- Emanuel, R.E., Albertson, J.D., Epstein, H.E., and Williams, C.A. (2006) Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 111, G01011, DOI:10.1029/2005JG000069.
- European Environment Agency (2022) Carbon stocks and sequestration in terrestrial and marine ecosystems a lever for nature restoration?, Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union (EEA briefing, no. 05/2022). doi: 10.2800/816798.
- Hendriks, K., Gubbay, S., Arets, E., and Janssen, J. (2020) Carbon storage in European ecosystems; A quick scan for terrestrial and marine EUNIS habitat types, Wageningen, Wageningen Environmental Research, Internal Report. 66 pp.; 22 fig.; 22 tab.; 77 ref.
- Malak, D.A., Marín, A.I., Trombetti, M., Román, S.S. (2021) Carbon pools and sequestration potential of wetlands in the European Union, European Topic Centre on Urban, Land and Soil Systems, Viena and Malaga, ISBN 978-3-200-07433-0, DOI:10.1007/978-981-13-7665-8_4.
- Nowak, D.J., Greenfield, E.J., Hoehn, R.E, and Lapoint, E. (2013) Carbon storage and sequestration by trees in urban and community areas of the United States. Environmental Pollution 178: 229-236.
- Sleeter, R., Sleeter, B., Williams, B., Hogan, D., Hawbaker, T., and Zhu, Z. (201) A carbon balance model for the great dismal swamp ecosystem. Carbon Balance Manage 12:2
- USDA Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis Program, Wed, 21 June 2022. Forest Inventory EVALIDator web-application Version 1. St. Paul, MN: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. [Available only on internet: http://apps.fs.usda.gov/Evalidator/evalidator.jsp ]
- Weinstein, D.A. Carbon sequestration currently occurring on Cornell-owned Forest lands.
- Zirkle, G., Lal, R., and Augustin, B. (2011) Modeling carbon sequestration in home lawns, Hortscience, 46(5):808–814.
