Urban green spaces, particularly trees, have great potential to sequester carbon from the atmosphere and mitigate the impacts of climate change in cities. Large university campuses offer prominent space where such green spaces can be developed in order to offset the increasing greenhouse gas emissions, as well as other benefits. Amity University, Noida, is spread over 60 acres with dense tree plantations in and around the campus. The present study is a sustainability initiative to inventory the tree species on the campus and assess their total carbon sequestration potential (CSP). The above- and below-ground biomasses were estimated using the non-destructive sampling method. Individual trees on the campus were measured for their height and diameter at breast height (DBH), and estimates of carbon storage were performed using allometric equations. There is a total of 45 different tree species on the campus with the total CSP equivalent to approximately 139.86 tons. The results also reveal that Ficus benjamina was the predominant species on the campus with CSP equivalent to 30.53 tons, followed by Alstonia scholaris with carbon storage of 16.38 tons. The study reports that the ratio of native to exotic species is 22:23 or almost 1:1. The present work highlights the role of urban forests or urban green spaces, not only as ornamental and aesthetic plantations but also in mitigating the impacts of climate change at a local level. Higher education institutes have an important role in expanding their green cover so as to act as local carbon sinks.

Carbon storage estimates are essential for sustainable urban planning and development. This study examines the spatio-temporal effects of land use and land cover changes on the provision and monetary value of above- and below-ground carbon sequestration and storage during 2011, 2019, and the simulated year 2027 in Noida. The Google Earth Engine-Random Forests (GEE-RF) classifier, the Cellular Automata Artificial Neural Network (CA-ANN) model, and the InVEST-CCS model are some of the software tools applied for the analysis. The findings demonstrate that the above- and below-ground carbon storage for Noida is 23.95 t/ha. Carbon storage in the city increased between 2011 and 2019 by approximately 67%. For the predicted year 2027, a loss in carbon storage is recorded. The simulated land cover for the year 2027 indicates that if the current pattern continues for the next decade, the majority of the land will be transformed into either built-up or barren land. This predicted decline in agriculture and vegetation would further lead to a slump in the potential for terrestrial carbon sequestration. Urban carbon storage estimates provide past records to serve as a baseline and a precursor to study future changes, and therefore more such city-scale analyses are required for overall urban sustainability.

Urban planning, with special attention to green space development, offers a relatively simple and low-cost solution to the impacts of climate change and urbanization faced by urban centres. The present work examines the spatial variability of availability of adequate sites for the development of urban green amenities in Noida city. Multi-criteria assessment of potential locations has been accomplished using Analytical Hierarchical Process coupled with geospatial technology. Urban land use, physiographic factors (slope and elevation), accessibility (proximity to roads), and presence of grey, green and blue amenities (Normalised Difference Built-up Index, Normalised Difference Vegetation Index and proximity to water bodies, respectively) are the seven key criteria used to derive the final green space suitability map. A total of 46.47 % of the land was found to be in the category of highly and moderately suitable for greening the city, highlighting the potential of developing different forms of green spaces in the area. Such holistic city scale analysis of availability of potential sites for green space development can be utilised by the city administrators and urban planners for future land use planning and improving the distribution and spatial connectivity of the green spaces in the city with the common goals of better health, a cleaner environment, and climate change mitigation.