Diversity, structure and ecosystem services of trees in four parks in Texcoco using i-Tree Eco

Abstract

The purpose of this work was to know the structure and diversity, and ecosystem services provided by the trees at four parks in the city of Texcoco de Mora. A census and analysis of the tree composition in the green areas was carried out. A tree population composed of 391 individuals belonging to 19 families and 34 species was determined. The most common species were Ficus benjamina (23 %), Schinus molle (13.8 %), Hesperocyparis lusitanica (10.2 %), and Ligustrum lucidum (10 %). Simpson's index (1-D) had a value of 0.73, and the Shannon-Wiener index (H') equaled 3.89, which indicates a high diversity. The three most abundant species recorded do not comply with 10-20-30 rule. The i-Tree Eco v6 software was used to estimate that the trees store 28.85 Mg C ha-1, capture 2.56 Mg C yr-1, produce a total of 6 Mg O yr-1, remove a total of 0.06 Mg yr-1 of pollutants, and contributes to reduce runoff by 107.9 m3 yr-1. This information is useful for the management and tree conservation, as well as in the valuation of trees in the city of Texcoco.