Background
When it comes to the climate and broader benefits of vegetation, trees seem to get all of the attention. Yet shrubs play an important role in our urban ecosystems and their climate impacts tend to be underestimated. Shrubs are perennial, woody plants with multiple stems. They are often hardier than trees and can sequester more carbon over shorter timeframes1 . Shrubs also provide vital ground-level shelter for birds, flowers for pollinators, and food sources for birds and small animals.
The University of Waterloo is looking for an analysis of the existing number and health of its campus shrubs, the climate and broader impacts of those shrubs and the potential to increase its use of shrubs. This work supports the campus Ecomap project that aims to assess the biodiversity and evaluate ecosystem health of our campus greenspaces.
This work also relates to UN Sustainable Development Goals 11, 13, and 15.
Scope of Work Could Include
- Assess information already available for the campus on iNaturalist or other sources.
- Conduct a shrub inventory of the University of Waterloo main campus that includes total shrub cluster counts, species diversity assessments, health assessments and size.
- Record the geographical coordinates of each inventoried shrub in a spreadsheet for inclusion in the campus EcoMap.
- Use aerial imagery (GIS lidar, NIR imagery, air photos or other) to assess the total shrub canopy coverage for the campus.
- Conduct a literature review to identify and apply best practices for quantifying the annual carbon sequestered by existing shrubs now and in the future (eg every five years until 2050).
- Conduct a literature review to identify and apply best practices for qualitatively and quantitatively assessing the non-carbon sequestering benefits of campus shrubs.
- Research innovative ways of financing the maintenance and planting of shrubs on campus.
- Identify any additional maintenance practices can support the health of the existing shrubs on campus.
- Identify areas on campus that would benefit from greater shrub coverage and make recommendations for species selection.
- Make further recommendations as appropriate.
Resources
The Sustainability Office can share a preliminary tree inventory conducted in 1994, a native species list created in 1997, and a report on climate change and the tree canopy of Region of Waterloo. Shrub identification guides are available from the Ecology Lab. The Ecology Lab Dataverse includes additional information about plants found on campus. The Sustainability Office is also happy to facilitate a conversation with Grounds Services.
Stakeholders
- Sustainability Office
- Plant Operations
- Ecology Lab
Proposed Deliverables
The details of the deliverables are flexible but must meet the requirements set out by the course instructor. Some proposed deliverables include:
- A work plan early in the term outlining key milestones and responsibilities.
- Updates on progress at least once during the term.
- A final report outlining the outcomes of the study, including the inventory, climate impact assessment, broader impact assessment, and recommendations (as defined by the final project scope).
- A communications strategy to highlight the role that shrubs play on campus.
- A final meeting to review the outcomes of the report and answer questions.
1 Götmark, F., Götmark, E., & Jensen, A. M. (2016). Why Be a Shrub? A Basic Model and Hypotheses for the Adaptive Values of a Common Growth Form. Frontiers in plant science, 7, 1095.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2016.01095