Monitoring the Urban Tree Cover for Urban Ecosystem Services - The Case of Leipzig, Germany

Urban dynamics such as (extreme) growth and shrinkage bring about fundamental challenges for urban land use and related changes. In order to achieve a sustainable urban development, it is crucial to monitor urban green infrastructure at microscale level as it provides various urban ecosystem services in neighbourhoods, supporting quality of life and environmental health. We monitor urban trees by means of a multiple data set to get a detailed knowledge on its distribution and change over a decade for the entire city. We have digital orthophotos, a digital elevation model and a digital surface model. The refined knowledge on the absolute height above ground helps to differentiate tree tops. Grounded on an object-based image analysis scheme a detailed mapping of trees in an urbanized environment is processed. Results show high accuracy of tree detection and avoidance of misclassification due to shadows. The study area is the City of Leipzig, Germany. One of the leading German cities, it is home to contiguous community allotments that characterize the configuration of the city. Leipzig has one of the most well-preserved floodplain forests in Europe.

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A Differentiated Spatial Assessment of Urban Ecosystem Services Based on Land Use Data in Halle, Germany

Land ◽

10.3390/land7030101 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 7 (3) ◽

pp. 101 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Janis Arnold ◽

Janina Kleemann ◽

Christine Fürst

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Air Pollution ◽

Ecosystem Services ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Urban Ecosystem ◽

Data Set ◽

Urban Ecosystem Services ◽

Climate Regulation ◽

Land Use Types ◽

Cooling Effects

Urban ecosystem services (ES) contribute to the compensation of negative effects caused by cities by means of, for example, reducing air pollution and providing cooling effects during the summer time. In this study, an approach is described that combines the regional biotope and land use data set, hemeroby and the accessibility of open space in order to assess the provision of urban ES. Hemeroby expresses the degree of naturalness of land use types and, therefore, provides a differentiated assessment of urban ES. Assessment of the local capacity to provide urban ES was conducted with a spatially explicit modeling approach in the city of Halle (Saale) in Germany. The following urban ES were assessed: (a) global climate regulation, (b) local climate regulation, (c) air pollution control, (d) water cycle regulation, (e) food production, (f) nature experience and (g) leisure activities. We identified areas with high and low capacity of ES in the urban context. For instance, the central parts of Halle had very low or no capacity to provide ES due to highly compact building styles and soil sealing. In contrast, peri-urban areas had particularly high capacities. The potential provision of regulating services was spatially limited due to the location of land use types that provide these services.

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Examining the Associations Between Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status and the Potential Distribution of Four Urban Ecosystem Services in Rochester, NY

10.32942/osf.io/xqg7k ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Joshua Greene ◽

Kaitlin Stack Whitney ◽

Karl Korfmacher

Keyword(s):

Socioeconomic Status ◽

Ecosystem Services ◽

Urban Ecosystem ◽

Median Income ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Urban Ecosystem Services ◽

Ecological Resources ◽

Loan Corporation ◽

Block Groups ◽

The City

As populations and the total area of impervious surfaces continue to grow in developed areas, planners and policy makers must consider how local ecological resources can be utilized to meet the needs and develop climate resilient and sustainable cities. Urban green spaces (UGS) have been identified as critical resources in improving the climate resiliency of cities and the quality of life for residents through the urban ecosystem services (UES) that they provide. However, certain communities within cities do not have uniform access to these UGS, and this may be due to historical legacies (i.e. redlining) and/or contemporary practices (i.e. urban planning). Therefore, we sought to determine if the supply of UES throughout the city of Rochester, NY is inequitably distributed. We assessed UES using geospatial analysis and literature-based coefficients to measure ecosystem services. We also assessed the distribution of socioeconomic status (SES), including contemporary demographic information (population density, household median income, homeownership percentages, race percentages, and median property value) and historic neighborhood assessment grades assigned by the HomeOwners Loan Corporation (HOLC), throughout the city. By looking at these two sets of data together, we considered the social-ecological conditions and spatial patterns throughout the city to determine if the supply of UES is correlated with SES distribution. We found that there are statistically significant positive correlations between the production of UES in block groups and the SES indicator homeownership percentages, and negative correlations with the percentage of the population that is Black and lower HOLC grades. Furthermore, clusters of block groups with significantly high levels of social need for urban greening projects and a low production of UES were found primarily in the city’s downtown area and the neighborhoods directly surrounding it. This information provides a useful framework for city planners and policy makers to identify where UGS development needs to be prioritized as well how the supply of UES in the city is inequitably distributed.

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Proposing a typology of nature-based solutions for strengthening resilience of Central Vietnamese cities – First findings from the GreenCityLabHue project

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-10107 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Sebastian Scheuer ◽

Jessica Jache ◽

Kora Rösler ◽

Tran Tuan Anh ◽

Nguyen Ngoc Tung ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Ecosystem Services ◽

Action Plan ◽

Urban Expansion ◽

Well Being ◽

Urban Ecosystem ◽

Urban Ecosystem Services ◽

Societal Challenges ◽

Central Vietnam ◽

The City

Idea and Objectives: This case study presents first findings of the GreenCityLabHue project. The project aims at implementing an urban learning lab in the city of Hue, Vietnam, for the participatory identification and implementation of innovative nature-based solutions for the protection and improvement of urban ecosystem services and climate change adaptation. We will present urgent environmental and societal challenges for the city of Hue, including the estimated impacts of climate change and resulting disaster risks. Subsequently, we will discuss elements of the green-blue infrastructure to tackle these risks in a sustainable and environmentally just manner in the context of a proposed typology of nature-based solutions. This typology specifically shifts the focus from a European perspective towards nature-based solutions that are locally relevant to strengthen the resilience of Hue and comparable cities in Central Vietnam and/or South-East Asia.Background: Vietnam is a country that faces multiple challenges. It is a country that experiences rapid urban growth, with an estimated 50% of citizens living in urban areas by 2030 up from 35%, resulting in urban expansion that necessitates safeguarding urban ecosystem services, e.g., for the protection of human health and human well-being. Vietnam is also heavily affected by climate change. Particularly in Central Vietnam, cities face increasing risks of flooding, storms, and temperature extremes.By providing multifunctional ecosystem services and diverse benefits, nature-based solutions&#8212;and in particular green-blue infrastructure elements&#8212;may help to address the aforementioned environmental and societal challenges in a sustainable and integrative manner, e.g., for maintaining air quality, stormwater mitigation, climate regulation, and improving environmental equity.Hue is the capital of the Thua Thien-Hue province, located in Central Vietnam on the banks of the Perfume River. It has a population of approximately half a million people, represents a touristic and educational hotspot, and is rated a &#8220;top priority city&#8221; by the Vietnamese government. In Hue, first steps that consider strengthening the green-blue infrastructure were devised in form of the Hue GrEEEn City Action Plan. However, a more holistic urban planning approach that also addresses challenges related to climate change is still lacking.

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THE EVALUATION OF THE URBAN AGRICULTURE AS URBAN ECOSYSTEM SERVICES ABOUT THE MITIGATING EFFECTS AT CLIMATE CHANGES

ATLAS JOURNAL ◽

10.31568/atlas.104 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 4 (9) ◽

pp. 485-491

Author(s):

Neslihan DEMİRCAN

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Urban Agriculture ◽

Climate Changes ◽

Urban Ecosystem ◽

Urban Ecosystem Services

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The impacts of land use/land cover changes on the supply-demand budget of urban ecosystem services

Arabian Journal of Geosciences ◽

10.1007/s12517-021-07504-6 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (14) ◽

Author(s):

Syed Atif Bokhari ◽

Zafeer Saqib ◽

Amjad Ali ◽

Arif Mahmud ◽

Nadia Akhtar ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Ecosystem Services ◽

Land Cover ◽

Urban Ecosystem ◽

Land Cover Changes ◽

Land Use Land Cover ◽

Urban Ecosystem Services

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Assessing urban ecosystem services in support of spatial planning in the Hague, the Netherlands

Landscape and Urban Planning ◽

10.1016/j.landurbplan.2021.104195 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 214 ◽

pp. 104195

Author(s):

Janneke van Oorschot ◽

Benjamin Sprecher ◽

Maarten van 't Zelfde ◽

Peter M. van Bodegom ◽

Alexander P.E. van Oudenhoven

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

The Netherlands ◽

Spatial Planning ◽

Urban Ecosystem ◽

Urban Ecosystem Services ◽

The Hague

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Urban ecosystem services in strategic planning in Swedish municipalities

Urban Ecosystems ◽

10.1007/s11252-021-01113-7 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Åsa Ode Sang ◽

Frederik Aagaard Hagemann ◽

Nils Ekelund ◽

Jessica Svännel

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Problem Solving ◽

Strategic Management ◽

Urban Ecosystem ◽

Practical Application ◽

Urban Ecosystem Services ◽

Large Cities ◽

Trade Offs ◽

Growing Body ◽

The Usa

AbstractResearch to date on urban ecosystem services has mainly been conducted in large cities, particularly in China, the USA and some European countries. This study examined the provision of urban ecosystem services in a Swedish municipality context, based on interviews with municipal stakeholders in strategic management and planning from six municipalities and a review of existing publications readily available to practitioners. The analysis focused on (1) the ecosystem services explicitly covered, (2) whether multifunctionality was covered and specific synergies and trade-offs identified and, (3) the spatial scale and context used for ecosystem services (valuation/mapping, planning, design or maintenance) in practical application. The results showed that regulatory services are very much the focus in municipal operations as well as in publications available to practitioners. This is reflected in the implementation of the concept through problem solving often related to regulatory services, using multifunctionality and win-win situations in ecosystem service supply. These findings contribute to the growing body of work exploring how the concept of ecosystem services is adapted and utilised in practice.

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