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.

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

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 ◽  
pp. 87-96 ◽  
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

scholarly journals Environmental ecosystem services assessment based on urban green infrastructure structure indicators with case study in Shanghai

2019 ◽  
Vol 136 ◽  
pp. 03003
Author(s):  
Liang Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Urban Ecosystem ◽  
Environmental Services ◽  
Physiological Mechanisms ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Urban Green Infrastructure ◽  
And Storage ◽  
Model Structures

Urban green infrastructure (UGI) attracts much interest because they could provide urban ecosystem services (UES). Among all various methodologies, the UGI structure-based modelling is favored for advantages in physiological mechanisms. This work concerns on environmental services, including “air purification,” “microclimate regulation,” “noise reduction,” “carbon sequestration and storage,” and “rainwater retention.” A new assessment methodology based on UGI structure indicator was constructed with nine UGI model structures and quantitative values. With implemented in two urban parks in Shanghai, this methodology is speculated to be suitable for patch-level cases, and can make certain efforts to regions without sufficient data.

scholarly journals Living Heritage in the Urban Landscape. Case Study of the Budapest World Heritage Site Andrássy Avenue

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 4699
Author(s):  
Kinga Szilágyi ◽  
Chaima Lahmar ◽  
Camila Andressa Pereira Rosa ◽  
Krisztina Szabó
Keyword(s):  
Urban Development ◽  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Urban Landscape ◽  
World Heritage ◽  
World Heritage Site ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Heritage Site ◽  
Heritage Protection ◽  
Urban Green Infrastructure

Historic allées and urban avenues reflect a far-sighted and forward-thinking design attitude. These compositions are the living witnesses of olden times, suggesting permanence. However, the 20th century’s urban development severely damaged the environment, therefore hundred-year-old mature trees are relatively rare among city avenues’ stands. Due to the deteriorated habitat conditions, replantation may be necessary from time to time. However, there are a large number of replanted allées and urban avenues considered historical monuments, according to the relevant international literature in urban and living heritage’s preservation. The renewal often results in planting a different, urban tolerant taxon, as seen in several examples reviewed. Nevertheless, the allée remains an essential urban structural element, though often with a changed character. The Budapest Andrássy Avenue, a city and nature connection defined in the late 19th century’s urban landscape planning, aimed to offer a splendid link between city core and nature in Városliget Public Park. The 19–20th century’s history and urban development are well documented in Hungarian and several English publications, though current tree stock stand and linear urban green infrastructure as part of the urban landscape need a detailed survey. The site analyses ran in 2020–early 2021 created a basis for assessing the allées and the whole avenue as an urban ecosystem and a valuable case study of contemporary heritage protection problems. Andrassy Avenue, the unique urban fabric, architecture, and promenades have been a world heritage monument of cultural value since 2002. The allées became endangered despite reconstruction type maintenance efforts. The presented survey analyses the living heritage’s former renewal programs and underlines the necessity of new reconstruction concepts in urban heritage protection. We hypothesize that urban green infrastructure development, the main issue in the 21st century to improve the urban ecological system and human liveability, may support heritage protection. The Budapest World Heritage Site is worthwhile for a complex renewal where the urban green ecosystem supply and liveable, pedestrian-friendly urban open space system are at the forefront to recall the once glorious, socially and aesthetically attractive avenue.

scholarly journals People’s Avoidance of Neighboring Agricultural Urban Green Infrastructure: Evidence from a Choice Experiment

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 6930
Author(s):  
Shinsuke Kyoi
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Econometrics ◽  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Choice Experiment ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Residential Areas ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Ishikawa Prefecture ◽  
Urban Green Infrastructure

This study evaluates people’s preferences regarding the proximity of their residence to agricultural urban green infrastructure (UGI), such as agricultural land and satoyama, and discusses the availability of these types of land as UGI. UGI is vital for reducing the negative environmental impacts of urban areas, as these impacts are too large to ignore. In this study, we conducted an online survey and a choice experiment to investigate people’s perceptions regarding the proximity of their residence to agricultural UGI (AUGI). The respondents of the choice experiment were 802 inhabitants of Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, which has rich agricultural resources. To examine explicitly the spatial autocorrelation of people’s preferences, in this study, we used the spatial econometrics method. The main empirical findings are that people prefer agricultural land far away from their residence—more than 1000 m, not within 1000 m—which reflects the not-in-my-backyard phenomenon. Meanwhile, people’s preferences regarding proximity to satoyama are complicated and their preferences are positively spatially autocorrelated. The results indicate that policymakers and urban planners should manage and provide AUGI far away from residential areas; otherwise, they must address people’s avoidance of neighboring AUGI.

scholarly journals IoT Monitoring of Urban Tree Ecosystem Services: Possibilities and Challenges

Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 775 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor Matasov ◽  
Luca Belelli Marchesini ◽  
Alexey Yaroslavtsev ◽  
Giovanna Sala ◽  
Olga Fareeva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Development Planning ◽  
Sustainable Urban Development ◽  
Anthropogenic Pressure ◽  
Real Time Monitoring ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Urban Green Infrastructure

Urban green infrastructure plays an increasingly significant role in sustainable urban development planning as it provides important regulating and cultural ecosystem services. Monitoring of such dynamic and complex systems requires technological solutions which provide easy data collection, processing, and utilization at affordable costs. To meet these challenges a pilot study was conducted using a network of wireless, low cost, and multiparameter monitoring devices, which operate using Internet of Things (IoT) technology, to provide real-time monitoring of regulatory ecosystem services in the form of meaningful indicators for both human health and environmental policies. The pilot study was set in a green area situated in the center of Moscow, which is exposed to the heat island effect as well as high levels of anthropogenic pressure. Sixteen IoT devices were installed on individual trees to monitor their ecophysiological parameters from 1 July to 31 November 2019 with a time resolution of 1.5 h. These parameters were used as input variables to quantify indicators of ecosystem services related to climate, air quality, and water regulation. Our results showed that the average tree in the study area during the investigated period reduced extreme heat by 2 °C via shading, cooled the surrounding area by transferring 2167 ± 181 KWh of incoming solar energy into latent heat, transpired 137 ± 49 mm of water, sequestered 8.61 ± 1.25 kg of atmospheric carbon, and removed 5.3 ± 0.8 kg of particulate matter (PM10). The values of the monitored processes varied spatially and temporally when considering different tree species (up to five to ten times), local environmental conditions, and seasonal weather. Thus, it is important to use real-time monitoring data to deepen understandings of the processes of urban forests. There is a new opportunity of applying IoT technology not only to measure trees functionality through fluxes of water and carbon, but also to establish a smart urban green infrastructure operational system for management.

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