Research

14 pages, 3365 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Urban Forest Sustainability in Residential Areas in the City of Santo Domingo

by Solhanlle Bonilla-Duarte, Víctor Gómez-Valenzuela, Alma-Liz Vargas-de la Mora and Agustín García-García

Forests 2021, 12(7), 884; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12070884 - 07 Jul 2021

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 5411

Abstract

Cities are territories vulnerable to climate change. An alternative to increase resilience and mitigate the effects of the climate context is urban forest planning to increase ecosystem services. This research constructed a forest cover sustainability index, based on 147 semi-structured interviews with residents [...] Read more.

Cities are territories vulnerable to climate change. An alternative to increase resilience and mitigate the effects of the climate context is urban forest planning to increase ecosystem services. This research constructed a forest cover sustainability index, based on 147 semi-structured interviews with residents of four residential areas of the city of Santo Domingo (Gazcue, Zona Colonial, Ciudad Nueva, and San Carlos), in which information was collected based on both benefit perception and tree management in their home and nearby public areas. The socioeconomic characteristics of the population and the information gathered from the measurements of the urban forest in both public and private areas of the city during the 2016–2019 period were considered, including these four residential areas, which established the ecosystem services provided by the urban forest. The results showed that Gazcue had a higher value in the forest cover sustainability index. The factors that influenced this result were: job stability, medium-high income, and property ownership. Likewise, the added value of the territory, whether in terms of tourism or the socioeconomic value of the population that inhabits it, is closely related to a greater attention to urban planning, prioritizing the conservation and landscape harmony that the arboreal component can provide. In conclusion, urban forest planning in cities should consider tree species, the design and structure of spatial arrangements, and a competent legal framework that can meet the challenges of territorial sustainability and contribute to the resilience and mitigation of climate change impacts. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature-Based Solutions in Urban Forestry Planning and Management)

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17 pages, 2607 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessing the Ecological Value of an Urban Forest Park: A Case Study of Sinhua Forest Park in Taiwan

by Wan-Yu Liu, Yo-Zheng Lin and Chi-Ming Hsieh

Forests 2021, 12(6), 806; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12060806 - 18 Jun 2021

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3173

Abstract

Urban forests offer multiple functions: they can balance negative effects from the environment and provide the public with a place for leisure and recreation. Hence, urban forests are crucial to urban ecology and have been widely studied. In addition, relevant study results were [...] Read more.

Urban forests offer multiple functions: they can balance negative effects from the environment and provide the public with a place for leisure and recreation. Hence, urban forests are crucial to urban ecology and have been widely studied. In addition, relevant study results were applied for policymaking in urban development and forest park management. This study evaluated the ecological value of the Sinhua Forest Park and examined whether the socioeconomic background of participants influences their willingness to pay (WTP) for ecological conservation. Questionnaires were distributed to visitors in the Sinhua Forest Park in Tainan, Taiwan, and the payment card format of the contingent valuation method was employed to evaluate the ecological value. The results showed that the visitors had an annual WTP of $22.01 per person. However, when samples with protest responses were excluded, the WTP rose to $24.58. By considering the total number of visitors of a year, the total ecological value was $1,426,964.14/year and reached $1,593,257.31/year after excluding the protest samples. This study also analyzed participants’ within-variable socioeconomic background (e.g., gender and education) and discovered that male participants who are aged 60 years or older, with an education level of senior/vocational high school, and those who visited green spaces two to three times per week presented a high WTP score on average. A Tobit regression model was employed for examination, and the results indicated that participants’ education and frequency of visiting green spaces significantly influenced their WTP for the ecological conservation of the Sinhua Forest Park. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature-Based Solutions in Urban Forestry Planning and Management)

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29 pages, 6316 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Introducing the Green Infrastructure for Roadside Air Quality (GI4RAQ) Platform: Estimating Site-Specific Changes in the Dispersion of Vehicular Pollution Close to Source

by Helen Pearce, James G. Levine, Xiaoming Cai and A. Rob MacKenzie

Forests 2021, 12(6), 769; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12060769 - 10 Jun 2021

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 4675

Abstract

The benefits of ‘green infrastructure’ are multi-faceted and well-documented, but estimating those of individual street-scale planting schemes at planning can be challenging. This is crucial to avoid undervaluing proposed schemes in cost–benefit analyses, and ensure they are resilient to ‘value engineering’ between planning [...] Read more.

The benefits of ‘green infrastructure’ are multi-faceted and well-documented, but estimating those of individual street-scale planting schemes at planning can be challenging. This is crucial to avoid undervaluing proposed schemes in cost–benefit analyses, and ensure they are resilient to ‘value engineering’ between planning and implementation. Here, we introduce prototype software enabling urban practitioners to estimate the site-specific air quality impacts of roadside vegetation barriers: highly localised changes in pollutant concentrations due to changes in the dispersion of vehicular emissions close to source. We summarise the recent shift in understanding regarding the impacts of vegetation on urban air pollution towards changes in pollutant dispersion (cf. deposition) and describe our prototype software, offering rapid estimates thereof. First tests of the underlying model’s performance are promising, reproducing: annual mean NO₂ and PM_2.5 concentrations in a street canyon (Marylebone Road, London, UK) to within 10% and 25%, respectively; and changes in pollutant concentrations of the right order of magnitude behind roadside barriers in a wind tunnel simulation of a street canyon and a real open-road environment. However, the model underestimates the benefits of a barrier in a simulated street canyon under perpendicular wind conditions. The prototype software is a first step towards informing practitioners of the site-specific impacts of vegetation barriers, which should always be additional to (i.e., no substitute for) essential emission reductions. The code is open-source to engage further researchers in its continued development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature-Based Solutions in Urban Forestry Planning and Management)

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10 pages, 10480 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

Continuous Urban Tree Cover Mapping from Landsat Imagery in Bengaluru, India

by Nils Nölke

Forests 2021, 12(2), 220; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12020220 - 13 Feb 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2184

Abstract

Percent tree cover maps derived from Landsat imagery provide a useful data source for monitoring changes in tree cover over time. Urban trees are a special group of trees outside forests (TOFs) and occur often as solitary trees, in roadside alleys and in [...] Read more.

Percent tree cover maps derived from Landsat imagery provide a useful data source for monitoring changes in tree cover over time. Urban trees are a special group of trees outside forests (TOFs) and occur often as solitary trees, in roadside alleys and in small groups, exhibiting a wide range of crown shapes. Framed by house walls and with impervious surfaces as background and in the immediate neighborhood, they are difficult to assess from Landsat imagery with a 30 m pixel size. In fact, global maps based on Landsat partly failed to detect a considerable portion of urban trees. This study presents a neural network approach applied to the urban trees in the metropolitan area of Bengaluru, India, resulting in a new map of estimated tree cover (MAE = 13.04%); this approach has the potential to also detect smaller trees within cities. Our model was trained with ground truth data from WorldView-3 very high resolution imagery, which allows to assess tree cover per pixel from 0% to 100%. The results of this study may be used to improve the accuracy of Landsat-based time series of tree cover in urban environments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature-Based Solutions in Urban Forestry Planning and Management)

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23 pages, 16009 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Beijing Resident’s Preferences of Ecosystem Services of Urban Forests

by Han Zhi-Ying and Youn Yeo-Chang

Forests 2021, 12(1), 14; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12010014 - 24 Dec 2020

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2841

Abstract

This paper aims to investigate the Beijing resident’s preferences over various options of urban forest management strategies. The literature investigation and expert Delphi method were conducted to classify the ecosystem services of urban forests into six categories: (1) fresh water provision, (2) noise [...] Read more.

This paper aims to investigate the Beijing resident’s preferences over various options of urban forest management strategies. The literature investigation and expert Delphi method were conducted to classify the ecosystem services of urban forests into six categories: (1) fresh water provision, (2) noise reduction, (3) moderation of extreme events, (4) air quality regulation, (5) species diversity and wildlife habitat, and (6) recreation and spiritual experience. To elicit the relative preferences to ecosystem service (hereafter referred to as ES) of Beijing residents, we employed the choice experiment method. The data were collected by interviews with questionnaires conducted in October 2017, and a total of 483 valid questionnaires were analyzed. The subjects of this experiment were residents older than 19 years old who have lived in Beijing for more than 1 year and have visited any one of the urban forests located in Beijing more than once during 2016. The results were as follows: Firstly, the air quality regulation ES was considered as the most important service for Beijing residents in terms of their choices of urban forest. In addition, Beijing residents regarded the fresh water provision ES as the second most important ES. Beijing residents were willing to pay up to 1.84% of the average monthly income of Chinese households annually to expand urban forest ecosystems in order to improve air quality. Secondly, apartment owners were willing to pay more municipality tax for forest ESs than residents who did not own an apartment. Thirdly, residents were more willing to pay for urban forest ESs as their income increases. The results indicated that Beijing residents were willing to pay more tax in support of urban forestry for air quality improvement. This research suggests that urban environmental policy makers in Beijing should pay more attention to the regulation function of forests (especially improving air quality) when designing and managing urban forests. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature-Based Solutions in Urban Forestry Planning and Management)

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16 pages, 5941 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Introduction of Fractal-Based Tree Digitalization and Accurate In-Canopy Radiation Transfer Modelling to the Microclimate Model ENVI-met

by Helge Simon, Tim Sinsel and Michael Bruse

Forests 2020, 11(8), 869; https://doi.org/10.3390/f11080869 - 10 Aug 2020

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 3950

Abstract

While complex urban morphologies including different materials, wall structures, etc., are rather adequately represented in microclimate models, replication of actual plant geometry is—so far—rather crudely handled. However, plant geometry greatly differs within species and locations while strongly determining a plant’s microclimate performance. To [...] Read more.

While complex urban morphologies including different materials, wall structures, etc., are rather adequately represented in microclimate models, replication of actual plant geometry is—so far—rather crudely handled. However, plant geometry greatly differs within species and locations while strongly determining a plant’s microclimate performance. To improve the plants representation in numerical models, a new method to describe plant skeletons using the so-called Lindenmayer-System has been implemented in the microclimate model ENVI-met. The new model allows describing much more realistic plants including the position and alignment of leaf clusters, a hierarchical description of the branching system and the calculation of the plant’s biomechanics. Additionally, a new canopy radiation transfer module is introduced that allows not only the simulation of diffuse radiation extinction but also secondary sources of diffuse radiation due to scattering of direct radiation within plant canopies. Intercomparisons between model runs with and without the advancements showed large differences for various plant parameters due to the introduction of the Lindenmayer-System and the advanced radiation scheme. The combination of the two developments represents a sophisticated approach to accurately digitize plants, model radiative transfer in crown canopies, and thus achieve more realistic microclimate results. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature-Based Solutions in Urban Forestry Planning and Management)

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17 pages, 6124 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Urban Green Space Accessibility and Distribution Equity in an Arid Oasis City: Urumqi, China

by Lei Shi, Ümüt Halik, Abdulla Abliz, Zulpiya Mamat and Martin Welp

Forests 2020, 11(6), 690; https://doi.org/10.3390/f11060690 - 18 Jun 2020

Cited by 41 | Viewed by 4460

Abstract

Urban green space (UGS) is crucial to the healthy development of urban residents. However, UGS that is accessible can benefit residents to an even greater degree. Based on the two-step floating catchment area model (2SFCA) and the location quotient (LQ), we analyzed the [...] Read more.

Urban green space (UGS) is crucial to the healthy development of urban residents. However, UGS that is accessible can benefit residents to an even greater degree. Based on the two-step floating catchment area model (2SFCA) and the location quotient (LQ), we analyzed the changes from 1999 to 2019 in UGS walking accessibility and equity in built-up areas of Urumqi at different administrative levels, and how UGS policy affects the improvement of accessibility. The results showed that UGS accessibility and equity are not evenly distributed at different administrative levels and UGS categories. Although the overall UGS accessibility and equity has improved with policy implementation, these changes are caused by metro-level UGS construction in urban fringe areas. The improvement in UGS accessibility at the neighborhood level in densely populated areas is neglected, which leads to a mismatch between UGS construction and population distribution. In addition, the accessibility of UGS is also limited by geographical location, population density, road distribution, and water shortage in arid metropolitan Urumqi. Our research results provide a theoretical basis for Urumqi and other cities in the optimization of UGS structure and the realization of social equity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature-Based Solutions in Urban Forestry Planning and Management)

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22 pages, 7614 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Impact of Urban Vegetation on Outdoor Thermal Comfort: Comparison between a Mediterranean City (Lecce, Italy) and a Northern European City (Lahti, Finland)

by Elisa Gatto, Riccardo Buccolieri, Eeva Aarrevaara, Fabio Ippolito, Rohinton Emmanuel, Leonardo Perronace and Jose Luis Santiago

Forests 2020, 11(2), 228; https://doi.org/10.3390/f11020228 - 18 Feb 2020

Cited by 51 | Viewed by 6170

Abstract

This paper is devoted to the application of the modelling approach, as one of the methods for the evaluation of thermal comfort, to neighborhoods located in two cities characterized by a different climate, i.e., a Mediterranean city in southern Italy (Lecce) and a [...] Read more.

This paper is devoted to the application of the modelling approach, as one of the methods for the evaluation of thermal comfort, to neighborhoods located in two cities characterized by a different climate, i.e., a Mediterranean city in southern Italy (Lecce) and a northern European city in southern Finland (Lahti). The impact of the presence of vegetation in both places is evaluated and compared, further considering alternative scenarios for thermal comfort improvement. The thermal comfort condition is expressed in terms of indices (mean radiant temperature (MRT) and predicted mean vote (PMV)). Results show that at pedestrian level the presence of vegetation lead to an improvement of thermal comfort in summer of about 2 points in both neighborhoods. This improvement is also evident observing the spatial distribution of MRT with a difference of 7 °C in the Lecce neighborhood and 3 °C in Lahti. In winter, thermal discomfort is observed in the presence of vegetation with a difference of 1.3 °C in the Lecce neighborhood and 1.5 °C in Lahti in terms of MRT. However, trees and green cover have the important potential to offset climate change impact and to make urban environments less thermally stressful. This study aims to guide urban planners towards a motivated and necessary transaction towards new green infrastructure whose effect should, however, be analyzed and investigated case by case. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature-Based Solutions in Urban Forestry Planning and Management)

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