Mapping green infrastructure based on ecosystem services and ecological networks: A Pan-European case study

AbstractNature forms interdependent networks in a landscape, which is key to the survival of species and the maintenance of genetic diversity. Nature provides crucial socio-economic benefits to people, but they are typically undervalued in political decisions. This has led to the concept of Green Infrastructure (GI), which defines an interlinked network of (semi-)natural areas with high ecological values for wildlife and people, to be conserved and managed in priority to preserve biodiversity and ecosystem services. This relatively new concept has been used in different contexts, but with widely diverging interpretations. There is no apparent consensus in the scientific literature on the methodology to map and implement GI. This paper serves as an informed primer for researchers that are new to GI mapping understand the key principles and terminology for the needs of their own case-study, and as a framework for more advance researchers willing to contribute to the formalization of the concept. Through a literature review of articles on creating GI networks, we summarized and evaluated commonly used methods to identify and map GI. We provided key insights for the assessment of diversity, ecosystem services and landscape connectivity, the three ‘pillars’ on which GI identification is based according to its definition. Based on this literature review, we propose 5 theoretical levels toward a more complex, reliable and integrative approach to identify GI networks. We then discuss the applications and limits of such method and point out future challenges for GI identification and implementation.

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Impacts of urbanization on green infrastructure ecosystem services: the case study of post-soviet Moscow

Belgeo ◽

10.4000/belgeo.30889 ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Oxana Klimanova ◽

Eugeny Kolbowsky ◽

Olga Illarionova

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Green Infrastructure

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China’s ecosystem services planning: will Shanghai lead the way? A case study from the Baoshan district (Shanghai)

Erdkunde ◽

10.3112/erdkunde.2021.04.02 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 75 (4) ◽

pp. 271-293

Author(s):

Harald Zepp ◽

Matthias Falke ◽

Franziska Günther ◽

Lars Gruenhagen ◽

Luis Inostroza ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Ecosystem Services ◽

Urban Planning ◽

Green Infrastructure ◽

Well Being ◽

Building Blocks ◽

Evaluation Framework ◽

Sustainable Urban Development ◽

Baoshan District

Ecosystem services (ES) are a fundamental component of well-being and sustainable urban development with tremendous potential to enhance urban planning. Recently, several studies have evaluated the environmental performance of urban plans using the ES approach. To strengthen this science-policy integration, it is still necessary to perform ES assessments within the urban planning practice as well as to collect empirical evidence on the impacts of envisioned planning measures on the supply of ES in urban environments across the world. In this research, we analyzed the state-of-the-art of China’s new environmental governance, which aims to change China’s land use policy and particularly the role of Green Infrastructure (GI) regarding urban planning and ES. We focused on the Shanghai Baoshan district Master Plan as a case study, and analyzed it under the lenses of the supply of ES using the matrix approach. We ascertained the supply of ES as delineated in the ecological network plan for 2035, and developed an evaluation framework based on CICES v5.1 and two expert workshops. Our approach used an integrated preliminary ES-assessment, and evaluated the consequences for the supply of ES in Baoshan district, which is adaptable to varying urban geographies. The results of our assessment show that, if realized as planned, the district will increase the overall supply of ES, especially regulating and cultural services, that play an important role within GI on the urban level. In general, the land use plans should include fine-grained information within building blocks to allow for even better assessing of the spatial structure of the supply of ES

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Ecosystem Services, Green Infrastructure and Spatial Planning

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12114396 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (11) ◽

pp. 4396 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Corrado Zoppi

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Green Infrastructure ◽

Pollution Abatement ◽

Ecological Networks ◽

Green Jobs ◽

Natural Protected Areas ◽

Long Run ◽

Wide Range ◽

Private Spending ◽

National Governments

Ecosystem services and green infrastructure do not appear to inform spatial policies and plans. National governments hardly identify their ecological networks or make an effort to integrate them into their spatial policies and plans. Under this perspective, an important scientific and technical issue is to focus on preserving corridors for enabling species mobility and on achieving connectivity between natural protected areas. In this respect, this Special Issue takes a step forward insofar as it aims at proposing a theoretical and methodological discussion on the definition and implementation of ecological networks that, besides guaranteeing wildlife movements, also provide a wide range of ecosystem services. The social and economic profile of this question is also relevant since in the long run, savings in public spending (e.g., due to the reduced need for grey infrastructures aiming at contrasting soil erosion or at managing flood risk), savings in private spending (e.g., on water treatment costs) and the potential creation of green jobs are foreseeable. Moreover, indirect and less easily quantifiable social and health benefits (e.g., due to improved natural pollution abatement) are likely to occur as well.

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Biodiversity and ecosystem services in urban green infrastructure planning: A case study from the metropolitan area of Rome (Italy)

Urban Forestry & Urban Greening ◽

10.1016/j.ufug.2017.12.014 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 37 ◽

pp. 87-96 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Giulia Capotorti ◽

Marta María Alós Ortí ◽

Riccardo Copiz ◽

Lina Fusaro ◽

Barbara Mollo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Metropolitan Area ◽

Green Infrastructure ◽

Infrastructure Planning ◽

Urban Green ◽

Urban Green Infrastructure

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SMART GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE IN A SMART CITY – THE CASE STUDY OF ECOSYSTEM SERVICES EVALUATION IN KRAKOW BASED ON I-TREE ECO SOFTWARE

GeoScience Engineering ◽

10.35180/gse-2019-0010 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 65 (2) ◽

pp. 36-43 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Ewa SIEDLARCZYK ◽

Monika WINCZEK ◽

Karolina ZIĘBA-KULAWIK ◽

Piotr WĘŻYK

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Green Infrastructure ◽

Smart City ◽

Services Evaluation

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Planning Cemeteries: Their Potential Contribution to Green Infrastructure and Ecosystem Services

Frontiers in Sustainable Cities ◽

10.3389/frsc.2021.789925 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 3 ◽

Author(s):

Katie McClymont ◽

Danielle Sinnett

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Detailed Analysis ◽

Green Infrastructure ◽

Urban Environments ◽

Potential Contribution ◽

Infrastructure Networks ◽

Planning Policy ◽

Cultural Regulation ◽

Depth Analysis

Cemeteries are often included in typologies of green infrastructure features, but there has been little exploration of their role within a multifunctional network of green infrastructure. This paper uses national greenspace data to map the contribution that cemetery space makes to accessible greenspace England. In doing so we provide a more comprehensive and detailed analysis of the scale of cemetery space in contemporary settlements, finding that cemeteries provide around 4% of accessible greenspace and are particularly important in high-density urban environments. Focusing then on an in-depth analysis of an urban case study, we survey 11 cemeteries that provide accessible greenspace for neighbourhoods in Bristol, UK. This suggests that cemeteries are delivering, or have the potential, to deliver ecosystem services and therefore form an important component of green infrastructure networks, but at the same time also need to provide culturally sensitive space for burial and remembrance. Despite the rhetoric, planning policy for cemeteries is not consistent in articulating their role as green infrastructure. We highlight the opportunities for greater cultural, regulation and maintenance services to be delivered, but also the need for greater dialogue between the different players involved in the maintenance and delivery of cemeteries.

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Combining the Conservation of Biodiversity with the Provision of Ecosystem Services in Urban Green Infrastructure Planning: Critical Features Arising from a Case Study in the Metropolitan Area of Rome

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su9010010 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 10 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Giulia Capotorti ◽

Eva Del Vico ◽

Ilaria Anzellotti ◽

Laura Celesti-Grapow

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Metropolitan Area ◽

Green Infrastructure ◽

Infrastructure Planning ◽

Urban Green ◽

Urban Green Infrastructure ◽

Conservation Of Biodiversity

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Young urban trees as important structures in the cultural heritage of cities – a case study from Prague

Environmental & Socio-economic Studies ◽

10.2478/environ-2019-0014 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 (3) ◽

pp. 14-23 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ales Rudl ◽

Ivo Machar ◽

Lubos Uradnicek ◽

Ludek Praus ◽

Vilem Pechanec

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Green Infrastructure ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Urban Trees ◽

Young Tree ◽

Urban Green ◽

Field Mapping ◽

Large Trees ◽

Urban Green Infrastructure

Abstract Urban trees generate numerous ecosystem services, and these are often closely associated with the species, age and size of trees as well as with their vitality. Generally, the focus of urban and regional planning is aimed at very large trees, because very large trees are considered to be key green structures in an urban green infrastructure. However, there is a significant knowledge gap related to the importance of young trees in cities, despite their value in urban green spaces, greenways, parks, gardens, urban forests, and as components of green roofs and green walls. This study is the result of field mapping young trees in the urban area of the famous European historical city of Prague. Field mapping revealed a total of 40 individual young trees, or young tree groups, with cultural value in the study area of Prague. The results of this empirical study indicate that young trees (not just very large and old trees) can be very important structures for the provision of cultural ecosystem services in cities, and that they can be viewed as living cultural symbols. This is a new aspect in the awareness of the environmental and social roles of urban trees. This case study from Prague suggests that (i) young trees in urban areas need more attention from researchers and (ii) should be incorporated into urban planning as an important component of urban green infrastructure.

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