The Experts below are selected from a list of 42861 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Zhifeng Yang - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
Urban Ecosystem health assessment a review
Science of The Total Environment, 2010Co-Authors: Meirong Su, Brian D Fath, Zhifeng YangAbstract:Due to the important role of cities for regional, national, and international economic development and the concurrent degradation of the Urban environmental quality under rapid Urbanization, a systematic diagnosis of Urban Ecosystem health for sustainable ecological management is urgently needed. This paper reviews the related research on Urban Ecosystem health assessment, beginning from the inception of Urban Ecosystem health concerns propelled by the development needs of Urban Ecosystems and the advances in Ecosystem health research. Concepts, standards, indicators, models, and case studies are introduced and discussed. Urban Ecosystem health considers the integration of ecological, economic, social and human health factors, and as such it is a value-driven concept which is strongly influenced by human perceptions. There is not an absolute Urban Ecosystem standard because of the uncertainty caused by the changing human needs, targets, and expectation of Urban Ecosystem over time; thus, suitable approaches are still needed to establish health standards of Urban Ecosystems. Several conceptual models and suitable indicator frameworks have been proposed to organize the multiple factors to represent comprehensively the health characteristics of an Urban Ecosystem, while certain mathematical methods have been applied to deal with the indicator information to get a clear assessment of the Urban Ecosystem health status. Instead of perceiving the Urban Ecosystem assessment as an instantaneous measurement of the health state, it is suggested to conceptualize the Urban Ecosystem health as a process, which impels us to focus more studies on the dynamic trends of health status and projecting possible development scenarios.
-
emergy based Urban health evaluation and development pattern analysis
Ecological Modelling, 2009Co-Authors: Zhifeng Yang, Bing Chen, Sergio UlgiatiAbstract:The objective of this study is to measure and evaluate the Ecosystem health levels of 31 Chinese capital cities in 2004 through an emergy synthesis framework. A system of indicators was developed corresponding to the four factors of Urban Ecosystem health including efficiency, structure, impact and flux. Furthermore, combined with individual indices, an emergy-based Urban Ecosystem health index (EUEHI) was proposed to measure and evaluate the health levels among various typical cities in China, which offers an integrated evaluation tool in view of Urban production, trade and consumption. The results showed that there are intrinsic differences among six clusters associated with driving mechanisms distinguishing the rankings of Urban health levels. After lining the cities of similar health levels with cluster map, the spatial distribution of the Urban health is found to be arch-shaped, increasing initially and then decreasing from coast to inner land. This kind of spatial hierarchy is per se compatible and consistent with the hierarchical theory of emergy synthesis. The results also revealed double restrictions of Urban health between economy and environment. Moreover, the interaction analysis was used for mirroring the driving mechanism of Urban Ecosystem health. Three conclusions were arrived at. Firstly, environmental health is inversely related to the economic health in China, indicating that cities cannot achieve win–win between environment and economy in the current Urban development mode. Secondly, based on economy-driven mode, four quadrants were divided in the city division map, wherein 43.33% of the concerned cities developed in high economy-restriction mode, which means low economic level is still an important limiting factor for the major cities of China. Finally, based on environment-driven mode, two sections were divided, of which weak environmental dominance mode expounds the special characteristics of Urban environment with obvious fragility. 23.33% of the 30 cities were in the intermediate state, which means a few correspondingly unhealthy cities should develop concrete polices for the Urban Ecosystem restoration.
-
Urban Ecosystem health assessment based on emergy and set pair analysis a comparative study of typical chinese cities
Ecological Modelling, 2009Co-Authors: Zhifeng Yang, Bin Chen, Sergio UlgiatiAbstract:Regarding various energy and materials flowing in the Urban Ecosystem and the merit of emergy as an embodied energetic equivalent for integrated ecological economic evaluation, an evaluation framework of emergy-based Urban Ecosystem health indicators (UEHIem) was established in view of five aspects including vigor, structure, resilience, Ecosystem service function maintenance and environmental impact to depict the Urban Ecosystem health states. Further, set pair analysis (SPA) was employed to assess the Urban Ecosystem health level based on the UEHIem, by which the approximate degree of real index set to the optimal one was defined and evaluated to describe the relative health state of the concerned Urban Ecosystems. Choosing twenty typical Chinese cities in 2005 as cases, we evaluated and compared their Urban Ecosystem health levels based on UEHIem and SPA. The results showed that health levels of Xiamen, Qingdao, Shenzhen and Shanghai are pretty well, while those of Wuhan, Harbin, Yinchuan, Beijing and Urumchi are relatively weak. Moreover, the relative health levels were analyzed by SPA to discern the influences of the mentioned five aspects on the UEHIem. It is concluded that emergy synthesis combined with SPA can serve as an effective relative-measure to compare different Ecosystem health levels of Urban Ecosystems.
-
Urban Ecosystem health assessment based on emergy and set pair analysis a comparative study of typical chinese cities
Ecological Modelling, 2009Co-Authors: Meirong Su, Zhifeng Yang, Bing Chen, Sergio UlgiatiAbstract:Regarding various energy and materials flowing in the Urban Ecosystem and the merit of emergy as an embodied energetic equivalent for integrated ecological economic evaluation, an evaluation framework of emergy-based Urban Ecosystem health indicators (UEHIem) was established in view of five aspects including vigor, structure, resilience, Ecosystem service function maintenance and environmental impact to depict the Urban Ecosystem health states. Further, set pair analysis (SPA) was employed to assess the Urban Ecosystem health level based on the UEHIem, by which the approximate degree of real index set to the optimal one was defined and evaluated to describe the relative health state of the concerned Urban Ecosystems. Choosing twenty typical Chinese cities in 2005 as cases, we evaluated and compared their Urban Ecosystem health levels based on UEHIem and SPA. The results showed that health levels of Xiamen, Qingdao, Shenzhen and Shanghai are pretty well, while those of Wuhan, Harbin, Yinchuan, Beijing and Urumchi are relatively weak. Moreover, the relative health levels were analyzed by SPA to discern the influences of the mentioned five aspects on the UEHIem. It is concluded that emergy synthesis combined with SPA can serve as an effective relative-measure to compare different Ecosystem health levels of Urban Ecosystems.
-
measurement and evaluation of the metabolic capacity of an Urban Ecosystem
Communications in Nonlinear Science and Numerical Simulation, 2009Co-Authors: Yan Zhang, Yanwei Zhao, Zhifeng Yang, Bing Chen, G Q ChenAbstract:Abstract Cities as superorganisms confront distUrbances from their metabolic processes, including large metabolic fluxes, low stocks of resources and products, and a low efficiency of the Urban material metabolism. Based on ecological thermodynamics, an indicator system is established in this paper to evaluate the fluxes, stocks, and effiency of the Urban material metabolism using emergy analysis. Also, a new model for the Urban material metabolism is proposed to define the production possibility curve using a wealth index (WI) and an ecological effiency index (EEI). Then, six large Chinese cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen are selected as typical cases to validate the proposed model. The results show that Shenzhen has the highest metabolic capacity, followed by Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Tianjin, and Chongqing. It is also reflected that different Urban material metabolisms of the six cities are resulted from the varied regional metabolic capacities, thus providing insights into how cities improve their metabolic capacities. Meanwhile, Shenzhen has the highest WI and EEI, Chongqing has the lowest WI and EEI, and Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, and Guangzhou has low WI and high EEI. It is also shown that the sustainable operation of the Urban material metabolism reflects the mutualism and symbiosis between socioeconomic development and ecological environment protection.
Erik Andersson - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
key insights for the future of Urban Ecosystem services research
Ecology and Society, 2016Co-Authors: Peleg Kremer, Niki Frantzeskaki, Timon Mcphearson, Zoé A. Hamstead, Erik Andersson, Dagmar Haase, Neele Larondelle, Nadja Kabisch, Emily Rall, Annette VoigtAbstract:Understanding the dynamics of Urban Ecosystem services is a necessary requirement for adequate planning, management, and governance of Urban green infrastructure. Through the three-year Urban Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (URBES) research project, we conducted case study and comparative research on Urban biodiversity and Ecosystem services across seven cities in Europe and the United States. Reviewing > 50 peer-reviewed publications from the project, we present and discuss seven key insights that reflect cumulative findings from the project as well as the state-of-the-art knowledge in Urban Ecosystem services research. The insights from our review indicate that cross-sectoral, multiscale, interdisciplinary research is beginning to provide a solid scientific foundation for applying the Ecosystem services framework in Urban areas and land management. Our review offers a foundation for seeking novel, nature-based solutions to emerging Urban challenges such as wicked environmental change issues.
-
Resilience of and through Urban Ecosystem services
Ecosystem Services, 2015Co-Authors: Timon Mcphearson, Thomas Elmqvist, Erik Andersson, Niki FrantzeskakiAbstract:Cities and Urban areas are critical components of global sustainability as loci of sustainability progress and drivers of global transformation, especially in terms of energy efficiency, climate change adaptation, and social innovation. However, Urban Ecosystems have not been incorporated adequately into Urban governance and planning for resilience despite mounting evidence that Urban resident health and wellbeing is closely tied to the quality, quantity, and diversity of Urban Ecosystem services. We suggest that Urban Ecosystem services provide key links for bridging planning, management and governance practices seeking transitions to more sustainable cities, and serve an important role in building resilience in Urban systems. Emerging city goals for resilience should explicitly incorporate the value of Urban ES in city planning and governance. We argue that cities need to prioritize safeguarding of a resilient supply of Ecosystem services to ensure livable, sustainable cities, especially given the dynamic nature of Urban systems continually responding to global environmental change. Building Urban resilience of and through Ecosystem services, both in research and in practice, will require dealing with the dynamic nature of Urban social-ecological systems and incorporating multiple ways of knowing into governance approaches to resilience including from scientists, practitioners, designers and planners.
-
A Quantitative Review of Urban Ecosystem Service Assessments: Concepts, Models, and Implementation
AMBIO, 2014Co-Authors: Dagmar Haase, Erik Gómez-baggethun, Zoé A. Hamstead, Erik Andersson, Neele Larondelle, Martina Artmann, Sara Borgström, Jürgen Breuste, Åsa Gren, Rieke HansenAbstract:Although a number of comprehensive reviewshave examined global Ecosystem services (ES), few havefocused on studies that assess Urban Ecosystem services(UES). Given that more than half of the world’ ...
-
reconnecting cities to the biosphere stewardship of green infrastructure and Urban Ecosystem services
AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment, 2014Co-Authors: Erik Andersson, Stephan Barthel, Thomas Elmqvist, Sara Borgström, Johan Colding, Carl Folke, Åsa GrenAbstract:Within-city green infrastructure can offer opportunities and new contexts for people to become stewards of Ecosystem services. We analyze cities as social–ecological systems, synthesize the literature, and provide examples from more than 15 years of research in the Stockholm Urban region, Sweden. The social–ecological approach spans from investigating Ecosystem properties to the social frameworks and personal values that drive and shape human interactions with nature. Key findings demonstrate that Urban Ecosystem services are generated by social–ecological systems and that local stewards are critically important. However, land-use planning and management seldom account for their role in the generation of Urban Ecosystem services. While the small scale patchwork of land uses in cities stimulates intense interactions across borders much focus is still on individual patches. The results highlight the importance and complexity of stewardship of Urban biodiversity and Ecosystem services and of the planning and governance of Urban green infrastructure.
-
reconnecting cities to the biosphere stewardship of green infrastructure and Urban Ecosystem services
AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment, 2014Co-Authors: Erik Andersson, Stephan Barthel, Thomas Elmqvist, Sara Borgström, Johan Colding, Carl Folke, Åsa GrenAbstract:Within-city green infrastructure can offer opportunities and new contexts for people to become stewards of Ecosystem services. We analyze cities as social-ecological systems, synthesize the literat ...
Sergio Ulgiati - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
emergy based Urban health evaluation and development pattern analysis
Ecological Modelling, 2009Co-Authors: Zhifeng Yang, Bing Chen, Sergio UlgiatiAbstract:The objective of this study is to measure and evaluate the Ecosystem health levels of 31 Chinese capital cities in 2004 through an emergy synthesis framework. A system of indicators was developed corresponding to the four factors of Urban Ecosystem health including efficiency, structure, impact and flux. Furthermore, combined with individual indices, an emergy-based Urban Ecosystem health index (EUEHI) was proposed to measure and evaluate the health levels among various typical cities in China, which offers an integrated evaluation tool in view of Urban production, trade and consumption. The results showed that there are intrinsic differences among six clusters associated with driving mechanisms distinguishing the rankings of Urban health levels. After lining the cities of similar health levels with cluster map, the spatial distribution of the Urban health is found to be arch-shaped, increasing initially and then decreasing from coast to inner land. This kind of spatial hierarchy is per se compatible and consistent with the hierarchical theory of emergy synthesis. The results also revealed double restrictions of Urban health between economy and environment. Moreover, the interaction analysis was used for mirroring the driving mechanism of Urban Ecosystem health. Three conclusions were arrived at. Firstly, environmental health is inversely related to the economic health in China, indicating that cities cannot achieve win–win between environment and economy in the current Urban development mode. Secondly, based on economy-driven mode, four quadrants were divided in the city division map, wherein 43.33% of the concerned cities developed in high economy-restriction mode, which means low economic level is still an important limiting factor for the major cities of China. Finally, based on environment-driven mode, two sections were divided, of which weak environmental dominance mode expounds the special characteristics of Urban environment with obvious fragility. 23.33% of the 30 cities were in the intermediate state, which means a few correspondingly unhealthy cities should develop concrete polices for the Urban Ecosystem restoration.
-
Urban Ecosystem health assessment based on emergy and set pair analysis a comparative study of typical chinese cities
Ecological Modelling, 2009Co-Authors: Zhifeng Yang, Bin Chen, Sergio UlgiatiAbstract:Regarding various energy and materials flowing in the Urban Ecosystem and the merit of emergy as an embodied energetic equivalent for integrated ecological economic evaluation, an evaluation framework of emergy-based Urban Ecosystem health indicators (UEHIem) was established in view of five aspects including vigor, structure, resilience, Ecosystem service function maintenance and environmental impact to depict the Urban Ecosystem health states. Further, set pair analysis (SPA) was employed to assess the Urban Ecosystem health level based on the UEHIem, by which the approximate degree of real index set to the optimal one was defined and evaluated to describe the relative health state of the concerned Urban Ecosystems. Choosing twenty typical Chinese cities in 2005 as cases, we evaluated and compared their Urban Ecosystem health levels based on UEHIem and SPA. The results showed that health levels of Xiamen, Qingdao, Shenzhen and Shanghai are pretty well, while those of Wuhan, Harbin, Yinchuan, Beijing and Urumchi are relatively weak. Moreover, the relative health levels were analyzed by SPA to discern the influences of the mentioned five aspects on the UEHIem. It is concluded that emergy synthesis combined with SPA can serve as an effective relative-measure to compare different Ecosystem health levels of Urban Ecosystems.
-
Urban Ecosystem health assessment based on emergy and set pair analysis a comparative study of typical chinese cities
Ecological Modelling, 2009Co-Authors: Meirong Su, Zhifeng Yang, Bing Chen, Sergio UlgiatiAbstract:Regarding various energy and materials flowing in the Urban Ecosystem and the merit of emergy as an embodied energetic equivalent for integrated ecological economic evaluation, an evaluation framework of emergy-based Urban Ecosystem health indicators (UEHIem) was established in view of five aspects including vigor, structure, resilience, Ecosystem service function maintenance and environmental impact to depict the Urban Ecosystem health states. Further, set pair analysis (SPA) was employed to assess the Urban Ecosystem health level based on the UEHIem, by which the approximate degree of real index set to the optimal one was defined and evaluated to describe the relative health state of the concerned Urban Ecosystems. Choosing twenty typical Chinese cities in 2005 as cases, we evaluated and compared their Urban Ecosystem health levels based on UEHIem and SPA. The results showed that health levels of Xiamen, Qingdao, Shenzhen and Shanghai are pretty well, while those of Wuhan, Harbin, Yinchuan, Beijing and Urumchi are relatively weak. Moreover, the relative health levels were analyzed by SPA to discern the influences of the mentioned five aspects on the UEHIem. It is concluded that emergy synthesis combined with SPA can serve as an effective relative-measure to compare different Ecosystem health levels of Urban Ecosystems.
Timon Mcphearson - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
social ecological and technological factors moderate the value of Urban nature
Nature Sustainability, 2019Co-Authors: Bonnie L Keeler, Timon Mcphearson, Perrine Hamel, Maike Hamann, Marie L Donahue, Kelly Meza Prado, Katie K ArkemaAbstract:Urban nature has the potential to improve air and water quality, mitigate flooding, enhance physical and mental health, and promote social and cultural well-being. However, the value of Urban Ecosystem services remains highly uncertain, especially across the diverse social, ecological and technological contexts represented in cities around the world. We review and synthesize research on the contextual factors that moderate the value and equitable distribution of ten of the most commonly cited Urban Ecosystem services. Our work helps to identify strategies to more efficiently, effectively and equitably implement nature-based solutions. The value of Ecosystem services in cities around the world is highly uncertain. This Review focuses on ten of the most commonly cited Urban Ecosystem services and presents a synthesis of the scholarship on the factors that moderate the value and equitable distribution of such services.
-
the value of Urban Ecosystem services in new york city a spatially explicit multicriteria analysis of landscape scale valuation scenarios
Environmental Science & Policy, 2016Co-Authors: Peleg Kremer, Zoé A. Hamstead, Timon McphearsonAbstract:Abstract Mapping, modeling, and valuing Urban Ecosystem services are important for integrating the Ecosystem services concept in Urban planning and decision-making. However, decision-support tools able to consider multiple Ecosystem services in the Urban setting using complex and heterogeneous data are still in early development. Here, we use New York City (NYC) as a case study to evaluate and analyze how the value of multiple Ecosystem services of Urban green infrastructure shifts with shifting governance priorities. We first examined the spatial distribution of five Ecosystem services – storm water absorption, carbon storage, air pollution removal, local climate regulation, and recreation – to create the first multiple Ecosystem services evaluation of all green infrastructure in NYC. Then, combining an Urban Ecosystem services landscape approach with spatial multicriteria analysis weighting scenarios, we examine the distribution of these Ecosystem services in the city. We contrast the current NYC policy preference – which is focused on heavy investment in stormwater absorption – with a valuation approach that also accounts for other Ecosystem services. We find substantial differences in the spatial distribution of priority areas for green infrastructure for the valuation scenarios. Among the scenarios we examined for NYC, we find that a scenario in which only stormwater absorption is prioritized leads to the most unevenly distributed ES values. By contrast, we find least variation in ES values where stormwater absorption, local climate regulation, carbon storage, air pollution removal, and recreational potential are all weighted equally. We suggest that green infrastructure planning strategies should include all landscape components that contribute to the production of Ecosystem services and consider how planning priority alternatives generate different Ecosystem services values.
-
key insights for the future of Urban Ecosystem services research
Ecology and Society, 2016Co-Authors: Peleg Kremer, Niki Frantzeskaki, Timon Mcphearson, Zoé A. Hamstead, Erik Andersson, Dagmar Haase, Neele Larondelle, Nadja Kabisch, Emily Rall, Annette VoigtAbstract:Understanding the dynamics of Urban Ecosystem services is a necessary requirement for adequate planning, management, and governance of Urban green infrastructure. Through the three-year Urban Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (URBES) research project, we conducted case study and comparative research on Urban biodiversity and Ecosystem services across seven cities in Europe and the United States. Reviewing > 50 peer-reviewed publications from the project, we present and discuss seven key insights that reflect cumulative findings from the project as well as the state-of-the-art knowledge in Urban Ecosystem services research. The insights from our review indicate that cross-sectoral, multiscale, interdisciplinary research is beginning to provide a solid scientific foundation for applying the Ecosystem services framework in Urban areas and land management. Our review offers a foundation for seeking novel, nature-based solutions to emerging Urban challenges such as wicked environmental change issues.
-
Resilience of and through Urban Ecosystem services
Ecosystem Services, 2015Co-Authors: Timon Mcphearson, Thomas Elmqvist, Erik Andersson, Niki FrantzeskakiAbstract:Cities and Urban areas are critical components of global sustainability as loci of sustainability progress and drivers of global transformation, especially in terms of energy efficiency, climate change adaptation, and social innovation. However, Urban Ecosystems have not been incorporated adequately into Urban governance and planning for resilience despite mounting evidence that Urban resident health and wellbeing is closely tied to the quality, quantity, and diversity of Urban Ecosystem services. We suggest that Urban Ecosystem services provide key links for bridging planning, management and governance practices seeking transitions to more sustainable cities, and serve an important role in building resilience in Urban systems. Emerging city goals for resilience should explicitly incorporate the value of Urban ES in city planning and governance. We argue that cities need to prioritize safeguarding of a resilient supply of Ecosystem services to ensure livable, sustainable cities, especially given the dynamic nature of Urban systems continually responding to global environmental change. Building Urban resilience of and through Ecosystem services, both in research and in practice, will require dealing with the dynamic nature of Urban social-ecological systems and incorporating multiple ways of knowing into governance approaches to resilience including from scientists, practitioners, designers and planners.
-
Urban Ecosystem services for resilience planning and management in New York City
Ambio, 2014Co-Authors: Timon Mcphearson, Zoé A. Hamstead, Philipp KremerAbstract:We review the current state of knowledge about Urban Ecosystem services in New York City (NYC) and how these services are regulated, planned for, and managed. Focusing on Ecosystem services that have presented challenges in NYC-including stormwater quality enhancement and flood control, drinking water quality, food provisioning and recreation-we find that mismatches between the scale of production and scale of management occur where service provision is insufficient. Adequate production of locally produced services and services which are more accessible when produced locally is challenging in the context of dense Urban development that is characteristic of NYC. Management approaches are needed to address scale mismatches in the production and consumption of Ecosystem services. By coordinating along multiple scales of management and promoting best management practices, Urban leaders have an opportunity to ensure that nature and Ecosystem processes are protected in cities to support the delivery of fundamental Urban Ecosystem services.
Neele Larondelle - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
balancing demand and supply of multiple Urban Ecosystem services on different spatial scales
Ecosystem services, 2016Co-Authors: Neele Larondelle, Steffen LaufAbstract:Abstract The scientific community has been engaged for some time in valuing and measuring Urban Ecosystem services (UES). However, methods to value both demand and supply and to balance them on a fine scale are still lacking. The study presents a scheme to assess demand and supply of UES and derive respective budgets by using detailed environmental, Urban structural and socio-economic data. We show heterogeneous demand and supply patterns for five highly relevant UES on the block, neighborhood and entire city scale in Berlin, Germany. We detect the most negative budgets along major city highways and in the most compact city structures, which calls for new and creative ways to introduce green and tackle high sealing rates especially in these areas. Due to the above-average green amount in Berlin the UES green space recreation and PM 10 removal showed to be unusually well balanced. The method is able to close a gap in methods for UES demand valuation and consequently develops a transferable methodology for informed planning processes. Furthermore we argue for the usability in planning processes due to its applicability on any relevant scale.
-
key insights for the future of Urban Ecosystem services research
Ecology and Society, 2016Co-Authors: Peleg Kremer, Niki Frantzeskaki, Timon Mcphearson, Zoé A. Hamstead, Erik Andersson, Dagmar Haase, Neele Larondelle, Nadja Kabisch, Emily Rall, Annette VoigtAbstract:Understanding the dynamics of Urban Ecosystem services is a necessary requirement for adequate planning, management, and governance of Urban green infrastructure. Through the three-year Urban Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (URBES) research project, we conducted case study and comparative research on Urban biodiversity and Ecosystem services across seven cities in Europe and the United States. Reviewing > 50 peer-reviewed publications from the project, we present and discuss seven key insights that reflect cumulative findings from the project as well as the state-of-the-art knowledge in Urban Ecosystem services research. The insights from our review indicate that cross-sectoral, multiscale, interdisciplinary research is beginning to provide a solid scientific foundation for applying the Ecosystem services framework in Urban areas and land management. Our review offers a foundation for seeking novel, nature-based solutions to emerging Urban challenges such as wicked environmental change issues.
-
A Quantitative Review of Urban Ecosystem Service Assessments: Concepts, Models, and Implementation
AMBIO, 2014Co-Authors: Dagmar Haase, Erik Gómez-baggethun, Zoé A. Hamstead, Erik Andersson, Neele Larondelle, Martina Artmann, Sara Borgström, Jürgen Breuste, Åsa Gren, Rieke HansenAbstract:Although a number of comprehensive reviewshave examined global Ecosystem services (ES), few havefocused on studies that assess Urban Ecosystem services(UES). Given that more than half of the world’ ...
-
Urban Ecosystem services assessment along a rural Urban gradient a cross analysis of european cities
Ecological Indicators, 2013Co-Authors: Neele Larondelle, Dagmar HaaseAbstract:Abstract The main objective of this paper is to present an assessment approach for Ecosystem services in an Urban context covering the local and the regional scale. It was applied to different European cities. A set of indicators representing important Urban Ecosystem goods and services – local climate regulation, air cooling and recreation – was tested using spatial data along an Urban–rural gradient. The results show that there is neither a typical rural–Urban gradient in terms of Urban Ecosystem service provisioning nor a uniform Urban spatial pattern of service provisioning that can serve as a generic model for cities. The results demonstrate that (1) core cities do not necessarily provide fewer Ecosystem services compared to their regions and (2) there were no patches found within the four case study cities where all of the indicators report very high performance values. The analysis further shows that a high degree of imperviousness does not necessarily entail low Ecosystem service provisioning if an Urban structure contains a considerable amount of mature trees which support carbon storage and biodiversity. The results of the present paper provide insights into potentials and trade-offs between different Urban Ecosystem services that should be considered during Urban planning when setting targets and establishing thresholds to protect environmental resources, Ecosystem services and biodiversity for residents.
