Green4Clim: Making the University of Zurich a real-world laboratory for climate change mitigation

Universities and other institutions are currently faced with the goal of utilizing responsible practices regarding carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. At the University of Zurich, the initiative to start real-world laboratories inspired innovations and science-based studies to explore additional options for mitigating CO2 emissions from operations through both direct and indirect vegetation processes, i.e. direct sequestration and reduction in emissions from reduced energy consumption of buildings due to the shading and cooling effect of trees, respectively. As of now, it is unknown how much CO2 is sequestered by the vegetation on the University of Zurich Irchel campus and also which vegetated areas are possibly emitting CO2 (through soil respiration, decomposition, etc.). Within this initiative, the Green4Clim project monitors and quantifies the current CO2 sources and sinks on the Irchel campus and, in close collaboration with campus gardeners,determines options to optimize CO2 sequestration and cooling on campus. In this presentation, we present the preliminary results on (i) establishing a protocol for measuring direct and indirect effects of trees and other vegetation carbon sequestration, shading and cooling effects, and (ii) the measurements obtained on CO2 sources and sinks of natural areas on Irchel campus. Our measurements were taken at the leaf and soil level with a portable photosynthesis system and soil chamber systems to create an inventory of measurements, focusing on the four dominant tree species, green roofs, and the three dominant land cover types on campus (shrubs/bushes, short grass, and tall grass). Through this experiment we will identify the most suitable places and the most efficient plant species and communities to sequester CO2 on Irchel campus and suggest a management strategy that maximizes the CO2 reduction of the University of Zurich Irchel campus.