ABSTRACT
Urban forests, encompassing all trees, shrubs, lawns, and other vegetation in cities, provide a variety of ecosystem services to city-dwellers, such as air purification, global climate regulation, urban temperature regulation, noise reduction, runoff mitigation, and recreational opportunities, as well as ecosystem disservices, such as air quality problems, allergies, and damages on infrastructure (Escobedo et al. 2011; Gómez-Baggethun and Barton 2013; Gómez-Baggethun et al. 2013). Specifically, a significant body of literature has stressed the contribution of urban forests in reducing air pollution levels and offsetting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in cities (e.g., Jo and McPherson 1995; Beckett et al. 1998; McPherson et al. 1998; Nowak and Crane 2002; Yang et al. 2005; Nowak et al. 2006; Paoletti 2009; Zhao et al. 2010).
