LOS ANGELES — The City of Los Angeles has pockets of lush green urban canopies in various neighborhoods. But many experts, including a sociology professor at USC, say LA’s urban shade canopy is shrinking due to development.

Mature shade canopies can help a city cool down in a heat wave, so some residents of are working to preserve the mature canopy to better prepare the city for warming times ahead.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says that in one year, a mature live tree can absorb more than 48 pounds of carbon dioxide — and it holds onto that carbon dioxide for its lifetime.