Executive summary

Biodiversity supports ecosystems, and healthy ecosystems sequester carbon from the atmosphere.

Planting trees is an excellent way to sequester carbon, but it will take many years to get going, and is not the only way. Habitat heterogeneity supports both complex biodiversity and other vegetation types, accelerating sequestration and allowing ecological succession to improve habitat quality.

Species of plants and trees can be selected for desirable traits, focussing on fast-growing, drought-resistant natives. Site preparation and tree-planting planning is necessary, to ensure greatest survival of saplings, and protect existing habitats.

Small, fragmented patches are not good for biodiversity, weakening connectivity throughout the city. Contiguous sites are preferable, and corridor connectivity spanning the urban zone is ideal. The site option with the greatest connectivity and contiguity is the riverside corridor, providing a range of biodiverse habitats and carbon sequestration pathways.