Cities are among the areas that emit more carbon to the atmosphere and contribute to climate change. It is urgent to mitigate their impact. Nature-based solutions (NBS), terrestrial and water-based, are an excellent option to reverse this trend. Nevertheless, their effectiveness depends on the natural areas where they are established, the type, and the management practices applied. Also, when subjected to an intense human impact, NBS are in poor condition, and their effectiveness in storing carbon is reduced. Overall, terrestrial-based NBS can be an important carbon sink. On the other hand, water-based NBS carbon storage can be more limited and emit other greenhouse gases (e.g., methane and nitrous oxide). NBS must be designed according to the proposed objective and respect the local conditions. This will help improve their effectiveness in carbon sequestration or other purposes.

The work is supported by the project MApping and Forecasting Ecosystem Services in URban areas (MAFESUR), funded by the Lithuanian Research Council (Contract: Nr. P-MIP-23-426).

Peer reviewed