Ecosystem Services and Disservices of Urban Forests

Driven by rapid urbanization, land use patterns have undergone dramatic changes, which have in turn influenced ecosystem services (ESs). The government has implemented ecological compensation and conservation actions to mitigate this negative impact, especially in metropolises. However, whether these measures will have the desired effect remains unclear. Therefore, understanding the spatio-temporal characteristics of ESs and their driving factors are crucial for regional development. In this study, we quantified carbon storage, water yield and soil conservation services based on land use maps. A Geographical Detector (GD) was used to analyze the driving mechanisms of ES changes in Beijing from 1985 to 2020. The results showed that (1) the obvious landscape pattern changes are urbanization, afforestation and cultivated land degradation in Beijing, (2) the three services showed an increasing trend overall, but the changes were different in each period, (3) in general, land use change is the main factor affecting ESs, and the urbanization and afforestation contributed the most. These results suggest that in highly urbanized metropolises, humans can still balance the demands of regional development and ESs reasonable planning. This study highlights the importance of afforestation for ESs, the necessity of harmonizing environmental concerns and human activities, and the need to conduct ecological management in Beijing to protect the ecological environment and coordinate regional development. Full article

The demand for urban ecosystem services increases with the rapid growth of the urban population. The urban forest is a crucial ecosystem services provider in cities. To achieve a better estimation of urban ecosystem services, an understanding of the link between heterogeneity and ecosystem services within cities is needed. Other than street trees and forest remnants, the contribution of dispersed green spaces should also be considered. In this study, a ground-based sample quadrat investigation of trees across a sequence of land types in Kyoto City was applied. The ecosystem services and monetary values of trees were further calculated using a customized i-Tree Eco tool. The ecosystem services calculated include carbon storage and sequestration, air pollutants removal, and runoff reduction. Ecosystem services of different land use classes were compared at both quadrat and single-tree levels. We found no significant difference across land use for all the ecosystem services at the quadrat level. However, ecosystem services were different across land use at the single-tree level. We performed a species-specific analysis and found that the pattern of ecosystem services at the single-tree level across land use varies with both the service tested and species. Our study suggests that the heterogeneity within a city should be considered when estimating urban ecosystem services. The results also provide insight into the urban green space management of Kyoto City. Full article

Although urban parks sequester carbon by vegetation growth, they emit carbon due to materials production, transport, construction, management, demolition, and disposal throughout their life cycle. This study estimated the carbon budget of urban parks over their life cycle according to land cover type and explored ecological design and construction strategies to maximize carbon reduction. After setting up the scope of the life cycle, the energy and material used for each stage were analyzed on the basis of field survey, design and construction details, and literature review of 30 study parks. The net carbon uptake per unit of park area averaged 8.51 kg/m², with urban parks playing an important role as a source of carbon uptake to mitigate the climate change. This study suggested ecological design and construction strategies including the expansion of tree planting spaces through the minimization of grass and impervious areas, the minimization of changes to existing topography, and the utilization of local materials. As a result of applying these strategies to study parks, the net carbon uptake increased approximately 9.2 times. These study results are expected to be useful as information for the implementation of carbon-neutral policies and greenspace establishment projects. Full article

A survey on pollutants that affect air quality was carried out at 27 points in the city of Santo Domingo, National District. The removal of air pollutants was estimated in relation to the city’s forest cover; using the iTree Canopy software. A principal components analysis and a correlation analysis was also performed to identify the association of these variables. The results show that the average percentage of green infrastructure in the sampling points was 26%. Also, positive correlation was identified between the presence of NO₂ and SO₂ at the sampling points. It was observed that the higher the presence of forest cover, the higher the concentration of CO and the lower the presence of pollutants. Although five hot spots were defined in terms of air pollution levels in the National District, the study does not show conclusive results regarding the relationship between green infrastructure and air quality in Santo Domingo. Results show that urban planning for environmental quality requires inter-institutional coordination, permanent ecological quality monitoring, and coordinated public policies to establish adequate indicators comparable to the World Health Organization standards. Full article

An eight-hectare forest reserve in the centre of the metropolitan area in SE Poland was investigated for the effects of its management in relation to its purpose—protection of old Quercus robur L. trees. This local issue corresponds to a wider debate on the role of urban forests in contemporary societies. The study embraced (1) oak stand history—stand mapping and dendrochronology, historical maps’ analysis; (2) vegetation trends—undergrowth and ground layer analysis; and (3) visitors’ opinions on the reserve’s use—interview. The dendroecological analysis corroborates the landscape’s history emerging from the 1700s–1900s maps. The reserve is a feral park established in the early 1900s on the abandoned agricultural, partly wooded landscape. Under the current regime, shade-tolerant trees continue gaining advantage over older oaks, preventing their regeneration, whilst the herb layer, due to the reserve’s isolation remains poor and polluted by alien species. The non-intervention approach does not allow the reserve’s objective to be met. We recommend the restoration of features of semi-open silvopastoral landscape. This would correspond with both local eco-history and the dominating preference of the interviewed visitors. Such “bio-cultural refugia” should become key knowledge centres of the natural, cultural, and economic importance of the “working rural landscape”, fostering urban care for the countryside. Full article

Urban water bodies are an important asset in terms of climate change. The accompanying vegetation is an integral part of the waterside space system and a source of ecosystem services and disservices. The composition of greenery in waterside spaces should therefore be preceded by detailed research. This research would be the basis for the development of recommendations for enhancement of the positive impact of vegetation on humans and minimisation of its negative effect. The aim of the study was to identify ecosystem services and disservices of vegetation in the four most important waterside recreation spaces in the city of Rzeszów, Poland, and to develop plant composition guidelines. A detailed inventory of vegetation and aerobiological monitoring of the presence of airborne allergenic pollen grains and fungal spores were carried out. Next, the ecosystem services and disservices of the vegetation were determined based on literature data and on our expert judgement. Additionally, a counting of the number of visitors to waterside areas was conducted. All these steps were used to develop recommendations for shaping the vegetation of study areas. The results of the investigations show that the boulevards along the artificial lake function completely differently than other investigated places as the area resembles an urban park, and the water is not the main attraction in this space. The vegetation of the boulevards and the nearby gravel-pit bathing area has mostly a spontaneous character and offers the widest range of ecosystem services and disservices. The management of the vegetation should focus on its health-enhancing values. The vegetation growing near the outdoor swimming pools has been designed by man. Nevertheless, it requires recomposing and is targeted specifically at the enhancement of the visual attractiveness. Additionally, there is a need for planting compact deciduous trees that will provide shade at the multi-media fountain. Full article

The study aimed to assess the effect of informal tourist trails on the abiotic conditions and floristic composition of deciduous forest undergrowth in an urban area. The study was carried out in the Wolski Forest in Kraków (Poland) in 2020 using a total of 400 plots (1 m × 1m) situated in close (CL) and further (FU) vicinity of informal (<50 cm in width) and formal (≥150 cm in width) tourist trails in the forest interior and forest edge sites.Agreater content of N-NH4, P, and K occurred in the forest interior sites, while greater light intensity, species number, total plant cover, and stem height were found in the forest edge sites. Greater light intensity and a higher percentage of total and damaged plant cover were recorded in CLplots, while a greater height of plants was seen in FUplots. The number of species was higher in plots located along informal trails than in plots along formal trails. The dominance of therophytes and autochorous species along informal trails in the forest interior sites might be a result of successful diaspore dispersal by people walking, while the substantial share of zoochorous species along formal trails suggests their dissemination by dogs accompanying visitors. The dominance of forest and ruderal taxa in the forest interior sites suggests unfavourable conditions for the germination of meadow and grassland species. The higher cover-abundance of alien plants in CL plots along informal trails and FU plots along formal traits suggests that alien plants growing near the formal trails are more exposed to mechanical damage. Full article

Studies have shown that contact with nature plays a crucial role in the amelioration of human health. Forest therapy has recently received widespread attention as a novel and subsidiary treatment approach for stress recovery and health promotion. However, there is a lack of ample research on the comprehensive evaluation of the forest healthcare benefits. Moreover, it is not entirely clear what kind of forest types and seasons are suitable for forest therapy activities and how healthcare forests should be constructed and managed. From September 2019 to January 2020 and May to August 2020., five forest types of Phyllostachys edulis forest, subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest, Liquidambar formosana forest, Cunninghamia lanceolata forest, coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forest and a forestless control group in Shimen National Forest Park, Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, China were selected. Variations in the character of negative air ion concentration, air oxygen content, human comfort index and phytoncide relative content were analyzed. Principal component analysis and systematic clustering were used to construct forest comprehensive healthcare index and evaluation grade in order to assess the healthcare benefits of different forest types. In terms of negative air ion concentration, the subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest was far ahead of the other forest types throughout the year, while the forestless control group was the worst. All stands reached the annual maximum in summer, followed by spring, autumn and winter. From the perspective of air oxygen content, summer > spring > autumn > winter, among them, all forest stands clearly exceeded the normal atmospheric oxygen content (20.9%) in the first three quarters. Moreover, the air oxygen content of coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forest was the highest in five forest types; the forestless control group was the lowest. Judging from the human comfort index, in the whole year, all forest types, including the forestless group, were at the comfortable level and above. However, the five forest types still differed greatly in diverse seasons, among which Phyllostachys edulis forest and subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest were superior to Liquidambar formosana forest, Cunninghamia lanceolata forest, coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forest in spring and summer, while it was in reverse in autumn and winter. In view of the phytoncide relative content, the subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest was the highest, followed by the Cunninghamia lanceolata forest. The relative content of phytoncide was released more in summer, second, by spring, autumn and winter. Furthermore, establishing forest comprehensive healthcare index (FCHI = 0.1NAICi + 0.35AOCi + 0.27HCIi + 0.28PRCi), according to the FCHI value, it was divided into five rating levels. Overall, the comprehensive healthcare index of the five forest stands distinctly outperformed the forestless control group in all seasons. In addition, the five forest types were at level I in spring and summer. From the comprehensive data of the whole year, the comprehensive healthcare index of the coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forest was the best, followed by the subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest. The forest environment has a favorable influence on the human body and mind, so it is suggested that citizens go to the forest environment regularly for healthcare and physical and mental washing. In terms of the forest healthcare benefits, the best seasons for forest therapy in Shimen National Forest Park are spring and summer; autumn is suitable as well. When planning and constructing the forest therapy bases in Shimen National Forest Park in the future, coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forests should be allocated more in the stand transformation to promote forest healthcare benefits. Protecting and developing the landscape resources of the subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forests should be paid close attention, as well as making rational use of their health activity space. Full article