Carbon stock assessment and urban heat island mitigation potential of selected urban parks in the cities of Manila and Quezon/
Alexandra Marie Corros, Faith Dayondon, Garcia Jim Mel, and Jeio Justee Gogolin .--
Thesis (undergraduate)
College of Science .--
Includes bibliography:
Exacerbating climate change due to increasing carbon emissions and the aggravating Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect induced by continual urbanization will inevitably inflict unprecedented effects on urban areas. Hence, the present study intended to assess the potential of selected urban parks from two of the most highly urbanized cities in Metro Manila to mitigate such effects by storing carbon and reducing air temperatures. The carbon stock assessment was conducted using a non-destructive method. Air temperature was obtained both inside and outside of urban parks using alcohol thermometers. Tree canopy cover was estimated in the i-Tree Canopy software. Land Surface Temperature (LST) and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) were incorporated using Landsat satellite data and Quantum Geographic Information System (QGIS) software. Results showed that Quezon Memorial Circle (QMC) yielded the highest total carbon stock (1,029.01 t). Meanwhile, Paco Park exhibited the highest carbon stock density (287.91 t/ha). Further, it was recorded that inside air temperatures were consistently lower than outside air temperatures. Regarding tree canopy cover, Arroceros Forest Park garnered the highest (97.33%). QMC and its surrounding barangays have manifested the highest mean NDVI and LST. Hence, the researchers urge for effective conservation and improvement of urban parks as well as the strategic creation of new ones in highly urbanized areas.