DOI: 10.5285/9209af2c-24f6-4e37-98fe-550032e97a2c
title: Modelled potential carbon storage based on land cover and published carbon storage values in urban landscapes of the South Midlands

description: This dataset shows potential carbon storage as modelled for the urban areas of Milton Keynes/Newport Pagnell, Bedford, and Luton/Dunstable, UK. The modelling approach used the ‘InVEST (Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs) 3.1.0’ ecosystem service model suite, raster land cover maps at two spatial resolutions (5 m and 25 m) and published literature values for carbon storage by land cover. The resulting data are presented in the form of two ‘GeoTIFF’ raster map files (and associated metadata and spatial information files required by software) that can be viewed and manipulated in Geographic Information Software. The units are kg C per square meter. The purpose of the modelling was to help assess and visualise the value that urban green space represents to urban residents and natural systems in just one of many ecosystem services.

This research was conducted as part of the larger 'Fragments, Functions, Flows and Urban Ecosystem Services' (F3UES) programme. Detailed methods and results of this analysis are published in: Grafius DR, Corstanje R, Warren PH, et al (2016) The impact of land use/land cover scale on modelling urban ecosystem services. Landsc Ecol 31:1509–1522. doi: 10.1007/s10980-015-0337-7.
description: This dataset is the result of modelling using the 'InVEST 3.1.0' ecosystem service model suite. Input parameters did not involve direct fieldwork measurements but instead drew from existing land cover maps and published literature values of carbon storage by land cover type (kg C per square meter or similar) in comparable study locations (primarily Leicester, UK; with some other UK and European mainland cities considered during the literature review stage). Data gathering, literature review and modelling took place during 2015 and 2016, with the final results published in 2016. Quality control on preliminary model versions was done informally by comparison to results reported in published literature as no empirical measurements of carbon storage were available in our study area at the time of modelling for validation purposes. Focus was therefore placed on ensuring a sound theoretical model structure and use of relevant parameters from comparable studies. This dataset therefore represents purely modelled results and should not be interpreted as empirical measurements.

Aboveground carbon values were adapted from: Davies ZG, Edmondson JL, Heinemeyer A, et al (2011) Mapping an urban ecosystem service: Quantifying above-ground carbon storage at a city-wide scale. J Appl Ecol 48:1125–1134. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2011.02021.x.

Soil carbon values were adapted from: Edmondson JL, Davies ZG, McCormack SA, et al (2014) Land-cover effects on soil organic carbon stocks in a European city. Sci Total Environ 472:444–453. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.11.025.

Detailed methods of this analysis and results/conclusions are published in: Grafius DR, Corstanje R, Warren PH, et al (2016) The impact of land use/land cover scale on modelling urban ecosystem services. Landsc Ecol 31:1509–1522. doi: 10.1007/s10980-015-0337-7.