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Some golf courses start off as half-size, 9-hole courses and, if successful, expand in area to full-size courses, thus converting more land to highly managed greenspace. We investigated carabid beetle assemblages in three established and newly created suburban golf courses in Helsinki, southern Finland., Beetles were collected from similar habitat types on established courses, newly created courses and nearby reference areas., Seventy-one carabid beetle species were collected and the beetle assemblages were dominated by open habitat and generalist species., Assemblages differed considerably between the three golf courses studied and between the habitat types sampled, but not between course development stages (established vs. newly created) or reference areas., We argue that some carabid beetle species in the urban landscape in Helsinki are resilient and capable of rapidly colonising these modified environments., Under current management regimes, these golf courses in Helsinki, Finland, do not host carabid beetles of conservation concern, yet are rich in generalist and open habitat species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The method of empathy-based stories (MEBS) is useful in generating data regarding green spaces with children. • Children vividly expressed their needs and expectations that also offer design implications for planners. • Both designed features and wild nature are important elements of child-friendly urban green spaces. • In different cultures, children's mental images of the specific features and uses of nature may vary. One of the important features of cities is to provide high-quality outdoor environments for various groups of citizens. Although children are frequent users of green spaces, the knowledge and perspectives applied in planning and design of urban green spaces are mostly defined by adults. This results in spaces and practices that may limit the daily lives and creativity of urban children. Promoting child-friendly cities benefits from knowledge produced by children themselves, regarding their perceptions and experiences, as well as ideas and suggestions. This study provides empirical results concerning children's needs and mental images for urban green spaces in two urban areas in two countries (Chengdu, China, and Ruhr Region, Germany). 765 children, ages 8–10 were surveyed through the method of empathy-based stories (MEBS). Participants were asked to use their imagination to write stories according to given scenarios. Our study shows that MEBS can be used to gather meaningful data with children, and that children are an important stakeholder group in urban planning, landscape design and management with an ability to express their diverse needs and preferences towards green spaces. Both designed green spaces (e.g. gardens, parks) and wild nature (e.g. forests, meadows) can offer a range of activities and experiences for children in their everyday lives: opportunities for play, socializing, contact with nature, aesthetic and restorative experiences, learning and exploration. Our findings include indications of children's awareness of the diverse ecosystem services that green spaces provide, as well as of urban sustainability and livability. While we found German and Chinese children to have corresponding needs and expectations regarding urban green spaces and nature, we also found some variation. We suggest that the use of, and experiences in green spaces are linked not only to the landscape but also to conceptual-cultural contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Urban park age and plant type influence soil characteristics. • Urban greenspaces provide important ecosystem services similarly to non-urban ones. • High soil C content is associated with higher microbial and earthworm biomass. • Path analysis linked OM accumulation with evergreen trees. As cities grow, urban greenspace assumes a more central role in the provision of ecosystem services (ESS). Many ecosystem services depend on the interactions of soil-plant systems, with the quantity and quality of services affected by plant type and age. The question, however, remains whether urban greenspace can be included in the same ecological framework as non-urban greenspace. Our previous studies have contributed towards filling this knowledge gap by investigating the effects of plant functional type (evergreen trees, deciduous trees and lawn) and plant age on soil characteristics and functionality in urban greenspace, offering also a comparison with non-urban greenspace. A total of 41 urban parks and five non-urban forest sites within and adjacent to the cities of Helsinki and Lahti (Finland) were included in this project. Path analyses presented in this contribution, combined with a synthesis of previous findings, offer strong evidence that urban greenspace functions similarly to non-urban greenspace. In particular, plant functional types lead to soil environmental modifications similar to those in non-urban ecosystems. Therefore, vegetation choice upon park construction/implementation can improve the quality and quantity of ESS provided by urban greenspace. However, although vegetation modifies urban greenspace soils with time in a fashion similar to non-urban greenspace, the vegetation type effect is greater in non-urban greenspaces. To conclude, our synthesis of previous studies provides science-based guidance for urban planners who aim to optimize ESS in urban greenspaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Living tree structure and dead wood were measured in urban spruce stands. • Urban forests were compared to rural managed and semi-natural forests. • Living stands in urban forests were structurally diverse and rich in old trees. • Biodiversity value of urban forests could be developed by retaining more dead wood. Urban forests are usually not intensively managed and may provide suitable environments for species threatened by production forestry. Thus, urban forests could have the potential of enhancing biodiversity both within cities and at a larger landscape scale. In this study, we investigated stand structures of boreal urban forests to assess them in terms of naturalness and biodiversity conservation potential. We sampled two types of urban spruce-dominated stands: random urban stands as representatives of average urban forests, and valuable urban stands known to host high polypore richness and assumed to represent urban biodiversity hotspots. Urban forests were compared to rural forests with different levels of naturalness. Living and dead trees and cut stumps were measured from all studied stands. Urban forests had generally diverse living tree structures with abundant large-diameter trees. Random urban forests had more dead wood (median 10.1 m3 ha−1) than production forests (2.7 m3 ha−1) but still considerably less than protected, former production forests (53.9 m3 ha−1) or semi-natural forests (115.6 m3 ha−1). On the other hand, valuable urban forests had relatively high median volume of dead wood (88.2 m3 ha−1). We conclude that the combination of diverse stand composition and the presence of old-growth characteristics in boreal urban forests form a strong baseline from which their biodiversity value can be further developed, e.g. by leaving more fallen or cut trees to form dead wood. We propose that urban forests could become significant habitats for biodiversity conservation in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban soil can store large amounts of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N). To accurately estimate C and N storage in urban soils, C and N contents underneath impervious surfaces - the most prevalent land cover type in cities - should be taken into account. To date, however, only few studies have reported urban soil C and N content underneath impervious surfaces, and no data exist for cities under cold/cool climates, such as the Boreal zone. Here, we studied, for the first time, the effects of sealing on soil C and N storage in a Boreal city. Sealed soils were sampled for physico-chemical and biological parameters from 13 sites in the city of Lahti, Finland, at three depths (0–10 and 45–55 cm, representing the construction layer composed of gravel, other moraine material and crushed rock, and the native soil layer beneath the ca. 1 m thick construction layer). Our results show that urban soils underneath impervious surfaces in Finland contain 11 and 31 times less C and N content, respectively, compared with warmer regions. This is due to a deep C and N deficient construction layer below sealed surfaces. Even though impervious surfaces cover ca. twice the area of pervious surfaces in the centre of Lahti, we estimate that only 6% and 4% of urban soil C and N, respectively, are stored underneath them. Furthermore, we found very little C and N accumulation underneath the sealed surfaces via root growth and/or leakage through ageing asphalt. Our results show that soil sealing, in concert with a massive top soil removal typical to cold climates, induces a considerable loss of C and N in Boreal urban areas. Unlabelled Image • Under cold climate, soil underneath impervious surfaces contains little C and N. • These sealed soils harboured much lower C and N than in warmer countries. • Sealed soils had 15 times less C than pervious park soil. • The removal of natural soil below asphalt is responsible for C and N losses in cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The proliferation of vegetated, or green roofs, warrant a revisit of the terminology used in order to efficiently, and without confusion, convey information among scientists, policy makers and practitioners. A Web of Science and Google Scholar search (from 1996 to 2018) showed a steady increase in green roof articles, reaching close to 300 per year in WOS and ca. 2500 in Google Scholar, with approximately 10–20%, and up to 40 % of all articles using the terms extensive and/or intensive, especially in recent years. We evaluated the use of these terms, including 'green roof', and 'intensive and extensive roof', found that they are used in confusing ways, and provide compelling evidence that there is a need for revising the terminology. Acknowledging that most, if not all, vegetated roofs are multifunctional, we propose a new classification system based on the roof's primary function(s) and vegetation, such as "stormwater meadow roof", "biodiversity meadow roof", "biodiversity forest roof", or even "multifunctional meadow roof". This new terminological sphere is not meant to be rigid, but should be allowed to evolve so that useful combinations survive the scrutiny of academia and practitioners, while less useful ones go extinct. A clear and standardized terminology will serve to avoid confusion, allow for generalizations and aid in the development of this rapidly-expanding field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tropical dry forest (TDF) ecosystem is characterised by strong seasonality exasperated periodically by the El Niño/southern oscillation (ENSO). The environment produced by this event could constrain the survival of small organisms, such as insects. Carabid beetles were collected in a TDF in Armero, Colombia, during wet and dry seasons in both El Niño and non-El Niño periods. A series of traits linked to desiccation resistance were measured to characterise their adaptation to the TDF environment and to investigate changes experienced by carabid beetles during both episodes in quantitative (assemblage) and qualitative (traits) parameters. We found no difference in the presence of traits between El Niño and non-El Niño episodes, but carabid assemblages changed significantly in composition and assemblage structure between these episodes. During both periods, small-sized and nocturnal species dominated the assemblages, but in terms of number of individuals, medium and large-sized, and visual hunter species dominated. Calosoma alternans and Megacephala affinis were the most abundant species with high dispersal capacity. Carabid beetles exhibited morphological traits well-adapted to drought experienced in TDF, including when it is exasperated by ENSO. However, long-term studies can help to elucidate the real effects of ENSO and to confirm the adaptation of carabid beetles to cope with this extreme environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi are important mutualists for the growth and health of most boreal trees. Forest age and its host species composition can impact the composition of ECM fungal communities. Although plentiful empirical data exist for forested environments, the effects of established vegetation and its successional trajectories on ECM fungi in urban greenspaces remain poorly understood. We analyzed ECM fungi in 5 control forests and 41 urban parks of two plant functional groups (conifer and broadleaf trees) and in three age categories (10, ~50, and >100 years old) in southern Finland. Our results show that although ECM fungal richness was marginally greater in forests than in urban parks, urban parks still hosted rich and diverse ECM fungal communities. ECM fungal community composition differed between the two habitats but was driven by taxon rank order reordering, as key ECM fungal taxa remained largely the same. In parks, the ECM communities differed between conifer and broadleaf trees. The successional trajectories of ECM fungi, as inferred in relation to the time since park construction, differed among the conifers and broadleaf trees: the ECM fungal communities changed over time under the conifers, whereas communities under broadleaf trees provided no evidence for such age-related effects. Our data show that plant-ECM fungus interactions in urban parks, in spite of being constructed environments, are surprisingly similar in richness to those in natural forests. This suggests that the presence of host trees, rather than soil characteristics or even disturbance regime of the system, determine ECM fungal community structure and diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On-site decentralized urban stormwater management has gained significant momentum in urban planning. Recently, vegetated roofs have been recommended as a viable decentralized stormwater management system and nature-based solution to meet the challenge of urban floods. However, as another type of unconventional green infrastructure, vertical greenery systems (VGS), also known as vegetated facades, have received much less research attention. Even though some researchers suggest that stormwater management by VGS is comparable to that of vegetated roofs, empirical evidence to substantiate this claim is limited. In this study, we conducted rain simulations on newly-built vegetation containers with water storage compartments. These vegetation containers were designed to be incorporated into a VGS specifically for stormwater management. We tested variables that could influence water retention efficiency and evapotranspiration of the containers under field conditions, i.e., inoculation of plant growth-promoting microbes (PGPMs) (Rhizophagus irregularis and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens), different substrate types (sandy loam and reed-based substrate), simulated rain quantity, natural precipitation, substrate moisture, and air temperature. The inoculation of PGPMs significantly reduced runoff quantity from the vegetation containers. Meanwhile, the well-ventilated sandy-loam substrate significantly reduced the remaining water in the water storage compartments over 1-week periods between rain simulation events, achieving high water-use efficiency. The selected microbes were established successfully in the containers and promoted the growth of 2 out of 5 plant species. R. irregularis colonization responded to substrate type and host plant species, while B. amyloliquefaciens population density in the substrate did not respond to these factors. Environmental conditions, such as antecedent substrate moisture, air temperature, and natural precipitation also influenced the efficiency of stormwater retention and/or evapotranspiration. In conclusion, this study provides instructive and practical insights to reduce urban flood risk by using VGS. • Microbial inoculation reduces runoff quantity of a vertical green system. • Water-use efficiency of the system was mainly influenced by substrate type. • Runoff quantity and water-use efficiency were also influenced by weather conditions. • Our prospective vertical greenery system could reduce urban flood risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid urbanization and the global loss of biodiversity necessitate the development of a research agenda that addresses knowledge gaps in urban ecology that will inform policy, management, and conservation. To advance this goal, we present six topics to pursue in urban biodiversity research: the socioeconomic and social–ecological drivers of biodiversity loss versus gain of biodiversity; the response of biodiversity to technological change; biodiversity–ecosystem service relationships; urban areas as refugia for biodiversity; spatiotemporal dynamics of species, community changes, and underlying processes; and ecological networks. We discuss overarching considerations and offer a set of questions to inspire and support urban biodiversity research. In parallel, we advocate for communication and collaboration across many fields and disciplines in order to build capacity for urban biodiversity research, education, and practice. Taken together we note that urban areas will play an important role in addressing the global extinction crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although it is commonly believed that trees can improve air quality, recent studies have shown that such pollution mitigation can be negligible – or that tree canopies can even increase pollutant concentrations near their sources compared to adjacent treeless areas. We explored the impacts of urban roadside forest patches on the concentrations of nitrogen dioxide in summer and winter in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, Finland, and especially investigated if canopy cover can result in increased concentrations of NO 2 below the canopy. Our results, however, did not show significantly higher – or lower – NO 2 concentrations underneath tree canopies compared to levels above canopies. Neither did NO 2 levels at the below-canopy sampling height differ significantly between forest patches and adjacent open, treeless areas. The lack of a canopy effect may derive from the rather small size of the forest patches, and – compared to previous studies with similar design – divergent tree species composition forming a dense canopy structure. Our results corroborate previous studies that the potential ecosystem services offered by urban near-road forests are more likely due to benefits other than those related to the removal of air pollutants. • We studied if tree canopy cover can increase NO 2 levels below the canopy. • Tree canopies did not cause higher or lower NO 2 levels underneath canopies. • NO 2 levels at the below-canopy height did not differ from adjacent treeless areas. • This may be due to the tree species and the small forest patch size in the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urbanisation, as a global driver of change, modifies the natural environment with well-known consequences to biological communities. Under natural conditions, vegetation drives soil processes in concert with the soil microbial community in their rhizosphere. It remains unclear whether and how vegetation influences these communities in heavily disturbed urban systems where many ecosystem services are also strictly linked to soils and their biota. Here, we used amplicon sequencing and GeoChip arrays to study soil microbiota responses to urbanisation and tree functional types across climatic zones. Our data show that soil microbial communities vary widely across biomes, yet urban parks have compositionally unique microbial communities that are distinct from semi-natural forests. Neither functional trait richness nor functional gene relative abundances responded clearly to urbanization or vegetation type. Despite functional redundancy, vegetation type did affect soil communities compositionally. Soils under trees producing recalcitrant litter had a higher richness of fungal species than the labile ones, whereas lawns, despite of their structural simplicity, had an unexpectedly high diversity of bacteria and fungi. In summary, despite distinct differences in the soil microbiota across biomes, urbanisation and vegetation type have similar effects on structuring microbial communities within biomes. However, the urban soil microbiota, irrespective of the plant functional type they associate with, are functionally comparable to those in semi-natural forests, suggesting functional redundancy within this unique microbiota. • Soil microbial compositions differ between urban parks and forests across the globe. • Urbanisation and plant type structure microbial communities similarly in each biome. • Lawn soils have unexpectedly greater bacterial and fungal richness than tree soils. • Urban soil microbiota is functionally comparable to semi-natural forests. • Despite the compositional differences, the functional traits show redundancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims: Although soil-inhabiting fungi can affect tree health and biomass production in managed and pristine forests, little is known about the sensitivity of the plant-fungal associations to long-term changes in land use. We aimed to investigate how reforestation of farmlands change soil characteristics and affected the recovery of soil fungal functional guilds.Methods: We examined edaphic conditions and fungal communities (Illumina Sequencing) in three land-use types: primary forests (PF), secondary forests (SF, established over two decades ago) and active farmlands during May, July and September in Wuying, China.Results: Edaphic conditions and general fungal communities varied with land-use. Interestingly, overall fungal diversity was higher in soils at the farmland than at the forested sites, possibly as a result of recurring disturbances (tilling) allowing competitive release as described by the intermediate disturbance hypothesis. Although ectomycorrhizal fungal diversity and richness were marginally higher in PF than in SF, the latter still hosted surprisingly diverse and abundant ectomycorrhizal fungal communities.Conclusions: Reforestation largely restored fungal communities that were still in transition, as their composition in SF was distinct from that in PF. Our results highlight the ability of fungi grown in previously strongly managed agricultural land to rapidly respond to reforestation and thus provide support for forest trees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To address the global concern of antibiotic resistance, a one-health concept is considered necessary that recognizes the interdependency between humans, animals and the environment, and acknowledges that each of these factors contributes to the evolution and rapid bloom of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). We implemented a GeoChip 5.0 strategy to examine the wide-spectrum profile of ARGs in the soil of urban parks and reference forests across three distinct climatic regions: Boreal (Lathi, Finland), Temperate (Baltimore, USA), and Tropical (Singapore). ARGs encoding multidrug resistance (MRGs) were among the most abundant, accounting for 90% of all ARGs detected. MRGs include MFS , MATE , Mex , SMR and ABC , which are involved in the transportation/efflux of multiple antibiotics. Multivariate analysis revealed that the ARG profile tends to be partitioned separately in urban parks and climatic regions. In addition, we opted to examine the impact of plant functional type (recalcitrant and labile tree litter, lawn) on ARGs. There was no significant influence of vegetation type on ARGs except in the tropical region, where its impact was evident as compared with boreal and temperate regions. More interestingly, the majority of ARGs were detected to have a higher relative abundance in the tropical region as compared to the boreal and temperate regions. Regional characteristics of the tropical area likely affects ARGs and the ARG-host profile, thereby boosting soil microbial abundances. Additionally, MFS, Mex, B_lactamase_A, vgb, ABC, Van, fosb, ABC_ multi, Tet and Mate_antibiotic were considerably more abundant in old parks as compared with young parks across the three climatic regions. Nevertheless, urban parks harboured a significantly higher abundance of ARGs than forests. Our study presents evidence of ARGs in varied climatic regions and provides valuable new insights in our understanding of ARGs in human-dominated environments as well as their prevalence in pristine ecosystems. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In urban landscapes, humans are the most significant factor determining belowground diversity, including earthworms. Within the framework of the Global Urban Soil Ecology and Education Network (GLUSEEN), a multi-city comparison was carried out to assess the effects of soil disturbance on earthworms. In each of five cities (Baltimore, USA; Budapest, Hungary; Helsinki and Lahti, Finland; Potchefstroom, South Africa), covering four climatic and biogeographical regions, four habitat types (ruderal, turf/lawn, remnant and reference) were sampled. The survey resulted in 19 species belonging to 9 genera and 4 families. The highest total species richness was recorded in Baltimore (16), while Budapest and the Finnish cities had relatively low (5–6) species numbers. Remnant forests and lawns supported the highest earthworm biomass. Soil properties (i.e. pH and organic matter content) explained neither earthworm community composition nor abundance. Evaluating all cities together, earthworm communities were significantly structured by habitat type. Communities in the two adjacent cities, Helsinki and Lahti were very similar, but Budapest clearly separated from the Finnish cities. Earthworm community structure in Baltimore overlapped with that of the other cities. Despite differences in climate, soils and biogeography among the cities, earthworm communities were highly similar within the urban habitat types. This indicates that human-mediated dispersal is an important factor shaping the urban fauna, both at local and regional scales. • Earthworm communities varied within and among urban habitat types. • Remnant forests and urban lawns were the most favorable habitats for earthworms. • Different mechanisms lead to high similarity of urban earthworm assemblages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cities can host significant biological diversity. Yet, urbanisation leads to the loss of habitats, species, and functional groups. Understanding how multiple taxa respond to urbanisation globally is essential to promote and conserve biodiversity in cities. Using a dataset encompassing six terrestrial faunal taxa (amphibians, bats, bees, birds, carabid beetles and reptiles) across 379 cities on 6 continents, we show that urbanisation produces taxon-specific changes in trait composition, with traits related to reproductive strategy showing the strongest response. Our findings suggest that urbanisation results in four trait syndromes (mobile generalists, site specialists, central place foragers, and mobile specialists), with resources associated with reproduction and diet likely driving patterns in traits associated with mobility and body size. Functional diversity measures showed varied responses, leading to shifts in trait space likely driven by critical resource distribution and abundance, and taxon-specific trait syndromes. Maximising opportunities to support taxa with different urban trait syndromes should be pivotal in conservation and management programmes within and among cities. This will reduce the likelihood of biotic homogenisation and helps ensure that urban environments have the capacity to respond to future challenges. These actions are critical to reframe the role of cities in global biodiversity loss., (© 2023. Springer Nature Limited.)