Study on the Optimization of Street Tree Management Strategies for Enhancing Growth and Carbon Storage Capacity

Average global temperatures have risen by approximately 1.1 °C above pre-industrial levels, prompting South Korea and many other countries to set a carbon neutrality goal by 2050. Expanding green spaces has been proposed as a landscape-based approach to achieving urban carbon neutrality. However, the dense development of urban areas presents spatial and economic constraints in securing new green spaces. As a result, street trees, an existing urban green infrastructure, are increasingly regarded as a practical solution to enhancing carbon storage. Nevertheless, concerns have been raised that street trees planted without a systematic management plan may suffer from reduced vitality, leading to diminished carbon storage capacity. Ultimately, these conditions can result in increased tree mortality, turning what should be carbon sinks into sources of emissions. Such tree mortality not only results in the loss of carbon storage but also degrades the urban landscape, making systematic street tree management essential. This study aimed to address these challenges by developing an effective diagnostic approach to assess street tree growth conditions and identify methods to improve their carbon storage capacity. The methodology included identifying diagnostic indicators through a review of prior research and conducting field surveys on 72 Ginkgo biloba in Dalseo-gu, Daegu Metropolitan City. Correlation and regression analyses were performed, taking into account both growth diagnostic indicators and environmental variables. The results revealed that traffic volume and service population were the main environmental factors affecting the carbon storage capacity of Ginkgo biloba. Among the individual growth characteristics, tree height (β = 0.514), chlorophyll content (β = 0.26), and stem vigor (β = 0.216) were found to have significant influences. Based on these findings, this study proposed a management strategy to enhance the growth and carbon storage potential of urban street trees. These results are expected to serve as a vital foundational resource, contributing to the development of practical street tree management guidelines that support sustainable urban environments and climate change mitigation efforts.