Implications of Applying the Green Infrastructure Concept in Landscape Planning for Ecosystem Services in Peri-Urban Areas: An Expert Survey and Case Study

2014 ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Albert ◽  
Christina Von Haaren
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Landscape Planning ◽  
Expert Survey

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

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 14-23 ◽  
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.

scholarly journals Evaluating Landscape Attractiveness with Geospatial Data, a Case Study in Flanders, Belgium

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 703
Author(s):  
Astrid Vannoppen ◽  
Jeroen Degerickx ◽  
Anne Gobin
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Bare Soil ◽  
Geospatial Data ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Landscape Indicators ◽  
Landscape Characteristics ◽  
Landscape Quality

Attractive landscapes are diverse and resilient landscapes that provide a multitude of essential ecosystem services. The development of landscape policy to protect and improve landscape attractiveness, thereby ensuring the provision of ecosystem services, is ideally adapted to region specific landscape characteristics. In addition, trends in landscape attractiveness may be linked to certain policies, or the absence of policies over time. A spatial and temporal evaluation of landscape attractiveness is thus desirable for landscape policy development. In this paper, landscape attractiveness was spatially evaluated for Flanders (Belgium) using landscape indicators derived from geospatial data as a case study. Large local differences in landscape quality in (i) rural versus urban areas and (ii) between the seven agricultural regions in Flanders were found. This observed spatial variability in landscape attractiveness demonstrated that a localized approach, considering the geophysical characteristics of each individual region, would be required in the development of landscape policy to improve landscape quality in Flanders. Some trends in landscape attractiveness were related to agriculture in Flanders, e.g., a slight decrease in total agricultural area, decrease in dominance of grassland, maize and cereals, a decrease in crop diversity, sharp increase in the adoption of agri-environmental agreements (AEA) and a decrease in bare soil conditions in winter. The observed trends and spatial variation in landscape attractiveness can be used as a tool to support policy analysis, assess the potential effects of future policy plans, identify policy gaps and evaluate past landscape policy.

Assessing Urban Ecosystem Services

2018 ◽  
pp. 183-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marise Barreiros Horta ◽  
Maria Inês Cabral ◽  
Iva Pires ◽  
Laura Salles Bachi ◽  
Ana Luz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Landscape Planning ◽  
Urban Ecosystem ◽  
Urban Landscapes ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
Political Dimensions ◽  
Belo Horizonte ◽  
Economic Perspectives

By integrating social, ecological, and economic perspectives, the assessment of ecosystem services (ES) provides valuable information for better targeting landscape planning and governance. This chapter summarizes different participatory approaches for assessing ES in urban areas of three countries. In Belo Horizonte (Brazil), a conceptual framework for the vacant lots ES assessment is presented as an attempt to integrate landscape, social, and political dimensions. In Leipzig (Germany), a combination of site surveys, interviews, and remote sensing provides a valuable data set that fostered a comparative study between two forms of urban gardening. In Lisbon (Portugal), the study is based on interviews that offer a social insight into the horticultural parks situation, which in turn demands a better dialogue with the municipality. In general, the studies demonstrate the potential benefits of utilizing the ES assessment approaches on urban landscapes, especially for better understanding the interactions between people and nature in urban sites.

Multiple Benefits of Blue-Green Infrastructure and the Reduction of Environmental Risks: Case Study of Ecosystem Services Provided by a SUDS Pond

2021 ◽  
pp. 247-262
Author(s):  
Vladimir Krivtsov ◽  
Steve Birkinshaw ◽  
Valerie Olive ◽  
Janeé Lomax ◽  
Derek Christie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Environmental Risks

scholarly journals Mapping Ecosystem Services for Marine Planning: A UK Case Study

Resources ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanouil Tyllianakis ◽  
Lenka Fronkova ◽  
Paulette Posen ◽  
Tiziana Luisetti ◽  
Stephen Mangi Chai
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Oxygen Depletion ◽  
Fishing Effort ◽  
Marine Management ◽  
Mapping Tool ◽  
Ecosystem Services Mapping ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Marine Planning

This study presents an ecosystem-services-mapping tool that calculates the monetary value of several ecosystem services (ES) provided from an area comprising both MPAs (Marine Protected Areas) and non-managed areas. Findings in the UK South West Marine Management Organisation (MMO) Plan Area show that different MPAs yield high value estimates and that activities are grouped in certain areas, with the Severn Estuary and surrounding Site(s) of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) attracting the most recreational anglers, despite having lower water quality. This can be explained by increased nutrient levels, which enhance biological activity and yet do not cause oxygen depletion. The yearly value of the ecosystem service of carbon sequestration and storage in the area is estimated between £16 and £62 thousand. Proximity to large urban areas and shallow waters appear to be the most appealing factors for anglers, while proximity with France can be associated with the high fishing effort in the southwest of the study area. We show that the use of a tool integrating a willingness-to-pay function with high spatial resolution layers and associated monetary values can be used for short-term marine spatial planning and management.

scholarly journals Methods for identifying green infrastructure

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Erica Honeck ◽  
Arthur Sanguet ◽  
Martin A. Schlaepfer ◽  
Nicolas Wyler ◽  
Anthony Lehmann
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Landscape Connectivity ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Integrative Approach ◽  
Future Challenges ◽  
Political Decisions

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.

scholarly journals Assessing urban recreation ecosystem services through the use of geocache visitation and preference data: a case-study from an urbanised island environment

One Ecosystem ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. e24490 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario V Balzan ◽  
Iain Debono
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Spatial Data ◽  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Ecosystem Service ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Cultural Landscapes ◽  
Stated Preference ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Cultural Ecosystem Service ◽  
Direct And Indirect Benefits

Recreation is an important cultural ecosystem service and is one way in which communities experience the direct and indirect benefits arising from the experiential use of their environment. The recent rise in popularity of Global Positioning System (GPS) game applications, which combine information technology with an activity that increases mobility and encourages outdoor enjoyment, provides ecosystem service practitioners with an opportunity to make use of this georeferenced data to assess recreational ecosystem services. Geocaching is one such worldwide outdoor game. It has fixed points of incursion where people can hide and look for caches. This study explores the possibility of using geocaching data as a proxy for recreational ecosystems services in the Maltese Islands. A quantitative analysis of the georeferenced caches was used together with their visit rates and number of favourite points. This was supplemented by two questionnaires that investigated the preferences and experiences of both geocache placers (n=39) and hunters (n=21). Results show that the highest number of caches were placed and searched for in urban areas and that geocaching is strongly associated with the presence and accessibility of urban green infrastructure. The number of geocachers who stated preference for experiences in nature did not translate into high visit rates to sites of high conservation value (protected areas) but landscape value was significantly associated with recreational ecosystem services flow. The results presented here provide evidence that geocaching spatial data can act as an indicator for assessing and mapping recreational ecosystem services in urban environments and in cultural landscapes.

scholarly journals ACHIEVING SUSTAINABLE URBANIZATION OF THE NATIONAL THEATRE IN LONDON THROUGH CHANGE OF USE AND FUNCTIONS OF ARCHITECTURE

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (23) ◽  
pp. 11-21
Author(s):  
Danijela Rogina ◽  
◽  
Radivoje Dinulović ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Space ◽  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Urban Spaces ◽  
Urban Forms ◽  
National Theatre ◽  
Sustainable Urbanization ◽  
Key Aspects

The human population is currently on the rise and most Europeans live in urban areas, leading to increased urbanization. The change comes with its challenges, as cities, architecture, and urban spaces need to become more fluid, multi-functional, and innovative. This paper examines whether a change of use of public spaces, and functions of architectural and urban forms, can be used as an element in the implementation of sustainable urbanization. The theoretical framework of this paper focuses on literature findings relating to identified key aspects such as innovative approaches in changes of use — recycling and upcycling, green infrastructure and financial aspects, concepts of “right of the place”, and public participation. These aspects are addressed on both theoretical and practical levels, with the National Theatre in London as a case study. Findings convey that the change of use of spaces can be utilized to achieve sustainable urbanization, together with the management of functions and uses of architectural and urban forms. However, further research is needed with various stakeholders to identify a solid and inherent database, as a foundation on which the most optimal urban spaces would emerge, by identifying new functions and uses of urban space and architecture.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document