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Ecosystem collapse in direct response to climate change is a critical but poorly documented phenomenon. By assessing the climate context and productivity trends in Mediterranean ecosystems worldwide, we found a large-scale, abrupt forest decline in Chile (>90% in

Impact assessment is a key step in mainstreaming urban nature-based solutions (NBS). Yet, it remains unclear if and how assessment frameworks influence urban planning, design and management. We contend that the potential of current NBS assessment frameworks is not fully exploited due to: (1) limited contextualisation of monitoring and assessment to place-specific contexts and (2) the depoliticisation of co-production. To address this, we present a practical five-step action framework to guide inclusive participation across different stages of monitoring and assessment of urban NBS, including indicator selection. Unlike previous approaches, applying selection criteria at the level of individual indicators, we also use criteria at the aggregate level of the indicator set. We conclude that participatory assessment contributes to mainstreaming urban NBS for sustainable and just cities, provided data is contextualised to local decision-making contexts and the process is designed to amplify marginalised voices.

The potential benefits of public urban green spaces (UGS) are widely recognized and well documented, but the actual realization of these benefits depends on appropriate design and ongoing maintenance. To properly consider the needs and preferences of users, the professionals who plan and manage UGS should ideally be guided by the same perceptions that motivate the people who benefit from them. This exploratory international study was aimed at assessing the perceptions of urban residents and their level of satisfaction with specific aspects of UGS quality, and the extent to which these perceptions align with those of the professionals responsible for providing UGS-related services. The data collection was conducted in five European countries (Croatia, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, and Spain) in 2020–2021. The results show that UGS professionals generally underestimate the fears that are experienced by users at night, especially women, but correctly prioritize the importance of tangible solutions such as adequate lighting and cleanliness. Users in all countries emphasized “nature” and “quiet” as factors that improve their general sense of wellbeing in UGS, whereas these two aspects were largely overlooked by professionals in almost all countries. In addition, user satisfaction with specific UGS characteristics ranging from accessibility to park furniture was overestimated by professionals. These findings reinforce the concern that the benefits and services of green spaces can only be maximized if UGS professionals recognize the actual needs and desires of UGS users, from the phase of planning and landscape design to the everyday management and maintenance of these shared amenities.

Urban expansion in Latin-American cities is faster than urban planning. In order to implement sustainable planning the capacity of peri-urban areas to provide ecosystem services must be evaluated in the context of competing urbanization and conservation pressures. In this study we analyzed the effect of urban expansion on peri-urban vegetation of the Metropolitan Area of Santiago and what ecosystem services are provided by El Panul, land rich in biodiversity embedded in the fringe of the city. The city has lost vegetation while urbanized areas grow. Under this context, we evaluated the multi-functionality of El Panul through the quantification of three ecosystem services (ES): sense of place through the interviews of 60 residents, recreation via GIS analyses, and local climate regulation determined with air temperature measurements. El Panul increased the provision of urban green spaces, where inhabitants recognize and appreciate ES, and it plays a significant role in mitigating the urban heat island on summer nights. ES have emerged as a concept and framework for evaluating competing urban development alternatives.

There is an increasing recognition of the contribution of cultural ecosystem services to human wellbeing, however, research is scarce on the topic in the Global South. Evidence on urban cultural ecosystem services tends to focus on recreation and cities from the Global North. Cultural services such as social cohesion and cultural heritage are often overlooked from research. Global South realities are different from the Global North, given the proportion of indigenous communities, urbanisation dynamics, and environmental inequities. This chapter will address these topics by synthesising research carried out in the Global South and contrasting results with general discourses derived from studies in the Global North. The chapter closes by considering the way forward towards the research of ecosystem services in the Global South.

A study of factors impacting landslide displacement rates was conducted on the Ripley Landslide within the Thompson River valley in British Columbia, Canada for the International Programme on Landslides’ project #202. Seasonal and multiyear changes in atmospheric factors cause cyclic fluctuation of matric suction in the vadose zone through changes to the in situ water content. The ingress of moisture is shown to contribute to multiyear and seasonal loss of stability causing increasing landslide displacement rates, often disregarded in slope stability calculations. However, the water content in the unsaturated zone is important, especially in semi-arid to arid climates where the water table is low and large portions of the slope are unsaturated. Additional tools for studying long-term variations in climate and seasonal changes in water content are presented. These tools are used to characterize historical climate and compare several factors that have resulted in changing landslide displacement rates and magnitude. Infiltration of precipitation and snowmelt directly contributes to matric suction loss in the head scarp and is exacerbated by the presence of tension cracks. While groundwater levels are often correlated to changing displacement rates, changes in matric suction can also influence the rates of displacement. Climatic trends over subsequent years alter the long-term soil water accumulation which impacts rates of landslide displacement. By accounting for additional strength, or potentially a loss in strength due to increasing water content, it is possible to develop a more complete understanding of the mechanisms of climate change which drive displacement rates in the translational, metastable earthen slides that dominate the Thompson River valley. These mechanisms can be applied to comparable river valleys around the world.

The debate around the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has raised multiple and incompletely answered questions regarding how zoonoses are transmitted from wild populations to humans, how they spread within human communities, over regions and across continents, how countries and societies can fight or counter pandemics and how landscapes will have to be effectively managed for limiting the spread of diseases keeping communities safe and healthy. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Highlights • We investigated the change in visitation of urban green spaces (UGS) during COVID-19 pandemic. • Social isolation reduced extent, type and distance of visited UGS on the basis of legal restrictions. • Reasons for visiting UGS changed from non-essential before the pandemic to essential during it. • Respondents missed visiting UGS regardless of the view of UGS from their window. • Respondents expressed the need for UGS integrated within the urban fabric., Urban green space (UGS) is an essential element in the urban environment, providing multiple ecosystem services as well as beneficial effects on physical and mental health. In a time of societal crisis these effects may be amplified, but ensuring that they are maintained requires effective planning and management – which is a complex challenge given the rapid changes in modern society and the need for continual adaptation. This study aims to identify the drivers that normally attract visitors to UGS, and to assess the effects of social isolation on the usage and perception of UGS during the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted an online survey during the period in which restrictive measures were imposed in response to the pandemic (March-May 2020), in Croatia, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Slovenia and Spain. Results showed that urban residents normally have a need for accessible UGS, mainly for physical exercise, relaxing and observing nature. The reduction in UGS visitation during the containment period was related to distinct changes in the motivations of those who did visit, with a relative increase in "necessary activities" such as taking the dog out, and a reduction in activities that could be considered non-essential or high-risk such as meeting people or observing nature. Behavioral changes related to proximity were also observed, with an increase in people walking to small urban gardens nearby (e.g. in Italy) or tree-lined streets (e.g. in Spain, Israel), and people traveling by car to green areas outside the city (e.g. in Lithuania). What the respondents missed the most about UGS during the pandemic was "spending time outdoors" and "meeting other people" – highlighting that during the COVID-19 isolation, UGS was important for providing places of solace and respite, and for allowing exercise and relaxation. Respondents expressed the need for urban greenery even when legally mandated access was limited – and many proposed concrete suggestions for improved urban planning that integrates green spaces of different sizes within the fabric of cities and neighborhoods, so that all residents have access to UGS.

Research on urban forests has expanded in the last 30 years in the US, Canada, Europe, and Australia. Nonetheless, urban forestry has been explored to much less extent in the Latin America and the Caribbean region, despite being one of the most urbanized and biodiverse regions in the world. We address this gap by providing a baseline understanding of urban forest research in the region based on a systematic review of the academic literature. Of the 55,000 studies found, 195 were selected for review, and 182 were analysed and synthesized. These studies came from 13 countries and were published from 1970 to mid-2018 (inclusive) in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. Almost half of the studies were based in Brazil, followed by Mexico and Chile. To comparatively assess article output by country, we accounted for country population and Brazil, Chile, Nicaragua, and Puerto Rico had higher than average per capita article output. Most articles were ecological studies (64%) that used field surveys (58%) to research urban vegetation diversity. Most ecological studies did not include any social or management considerations. Only a few studies focused on spatiotemporal dynamics (12%) or the direct opinions of stakeholders (9%). We observed a notable increase in article output from the region during the last decade. The units of analysis targeted by these studies mostly focused on single trees in public areas (streets and parks). Understanding urban forests regionally could be strengthened by scaling up research across multiple units of analysis and across regional cities, which could provide a better understanding of regional spatiotemporal dynamics. To respond to current global trends and nurture regional strengths, research could also focus on a wider range of ecosystem services provided by urban forests, and the relationship of urban forests with poverty, crime, climate vulnerability, biodiversity loss, and social equity. These findings can inform key stakeholders in the region managing urban forests and trees about research trends and gaps to be filled. This article shows that the region indeed has an important body of research in urban forestry that should be recognized in global assessments. © 2019 Elsevier GmbH

Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is one of the most urbanized and biologically diverse regions in the world but is often characterized by weak environmental governance and socioeconomic inequalities. Given large expanses of intact biomes, a long history of pre-Colombian civilizations, and recent urbanization trends, the urban ecosystem services (UES) concept has the potential to address issues of well-being for its citizens. We review relevant regional and global literature and use expert-based knowledge to identify the state of the art of the UES concept as applicable to green spaces in LAC and elucidate three overarching guidelines for management and future research needs: 1. LAC cities can be socio-ecologically unique; 2. Drivers of UES in LAC can be different than in other regions; and 3. Context and demand need to be accounted for when valuing UES. Overall, we show that research on UES is mostly from the global north and rarely accounts for the diverse and complex socio-political and ecological drivers of LAC’s urbanization processes. We find that, as in other regions, the biophysical context and land use policies play a major role on UES provision. However, socioeconomic inequalities and weak governance are key drivers in UES supply and demand in LAC. Context-specific information on how to promote, educate, and apply UES is particularly important, not only in LAC, but in other regions where inequities, rapid urbanization, and climate change effects are stressing socio-political and ecological systems and their adaptive capacities. Standardized approaches from developed countries should be used to complement - not substitute – LAC context specific approaches for studying and applying UES. We suggest that improved research funding and local governance can also provide critical strategies, information and the means for more effective management, planning, and equitable provision of UES. © 2018, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

Latin America is one of the most urbanized region in the world, where patterns of urbanization are disorganized and disjoint from urban planning, with unknown effects for ecosystem services (ES). We evaluated the ES in Bogota and Santiago for a 30-year period. Using remote sensing data, models and census data we quantified carbon regulation, climate mitigation and recreation potential. We assessed ES provision changes and their spatio-temporal patterns using landscape metrics. Urban vegetation patterns differ between the two cities because of climate variability and greening policies. Bogota stored more carbon than Santiago given to climate effects, differences within city were the result of different policies and management. Climate mitigation showed similar behavior for both cities, influenced by global climate, densification and urban sprawling. Recreation potential increased in the inner-city and decrease at the outskirts, reflecting unplanned urban sprawling and increase population. Areas of high ecosystem services connected for Bogota and fragmented for Santiago. Bogota improved its environmental condition, as evaluated by ES provision, while Santiago worsens, even there was an increased in vegetation cover. Vegetation cover was not a sufficient indicator for ecosystem services and the distribution of it becomes highly relevant for informing mismatches between services and vegetation.

The recent decline in the health of the City of Melbourne’s deciduous tree species to a recent drought event has led to concerns about the vulnerability of the city’s trees to future climate change. Understanding the response of tree growth to past climate is critical for determining the likely impacts of climate change on future growth and can provide insights into the suitability of current species to future climates. We used dendrochronogical approaches to determine the relationships between climate and tree radial growth for common deciduous tree species in Melbourne’s urban forest. Chronologies were successfully developed for Quercus robur, Ulmus procera, Ulmus L. and Platanus acerifolia with all found to be sensitive to past climatic variability. All four species showed radial growth in a given year was negatively impacted by arid conditions in the previous autumn and arid conditions in the spring orearly summer of that year. Interspecific differences in climate – growth relationships, consistent with xylem anatomy trait differences (ring vs. diffuse porous), were observed. Successive years of drought had a significant negative influence on radial tree growth. Future climate change scenario testing suggested that a shift towards a warmer, drier climate would exacerbate declines in radial growth, and thereby health, highlighting that the studied species are vulnerable to climate change. From a planning perspective, a balance between (a) conserving these vulnerable tree species through proactive management; and, (b) planting more drought and heat tolerant species is likely the best approach towards adapting Melbourne’s urban forest to climate change.

Vegetation is one of the main resources involve in ecosystem functioning and providing ecosystem services in urban areas. Little is known on the landscape structure patterns of vegetation existing in urban areas at the global scale and the drivers of these patterns. We studied the landscape structure of one hundred cities around the globe, and their relation to demography (population), socioeconomic factors (GDP, Gini Index), climate factors (temperature and rain) and topographic characteristics (altitude, variation in altitude). The data revealed that the best descriptors of landscape structure were amount, fragmentation and spatial distribution of vegetation. Populated cities tend to have less, more fragmented, less connected vegetation with a centre of the city with low vegetation cover. Results also provided insights on the influence of socioeconomics at a global scale, as landscape structure was more fragmented in areas that are economically unequal and coming from emergent economies. This study shows the effects of the social system and climate on urban landscape patterns that gives useful insights for the distribution in the provision of ecosystem services in urban areas and therefore the maintenance of human well-being. This information can support local and global policy and planning which is committing our cities to provide accessible and inclusive green space for all urban inhabitants.

Cities represent considerable opportunities for forwarding global biodiversity and sustainability goals. We developed key attributes for conserving biodiversity and for ecosystem services that should be included in urban-planning documents and reviewed 135 plans from 40 cities globally. The most common attributes in city plans were goals for habitat conservation, air and water quality, cultural ecosystem services, and ecological connectivity. Few plans included quantitative targets. This lack of measurable targets may render plans unsuccessful for an actionable approach to local biodiversity conservation. Although most cities include both biodiversity and ecosystem services, each city tends to focus on one or the other. Comprehensive planning for biodiversity should include the full range of attributes identified, but few cities do this, and the majority that do are mandated by local, regional, or federal governments to plan specifically for biodiversity conservation. This research provides planning recommendations for protecting urban biodiversity based on ecological knowledge.

Changes in land use and land cover reflect anthropogenic effects in areas with a long history of human occupation, such as Mediterranean regions. To understand the landscape dynamics of a semi-arid Mediterranean ecosystem in Chile, we evaluated land-cover trajectories and their effects on landscape spatial patterns over a period of 36 years (1975–2011). We used landscape metrics combined with surveys of landowners to distinguish the main drivers of landscape change. General results indicated that changes in forest area followed both natural (64%) and human-induced (36%) trajectories. At the landscape level, fragmentation for all forest cover types increased, whereas at the class level, fragmentation of Native Forest decreased. The landscape changed from a homogeneous mosaic dominated by grazing and agriculture to a more heterogeneous environment, where natural cover had become more dominant. Thus, the use of a landscape ecology approach together with field information improved our understanding of the spatiotemporal dynamics in this landscape. This study is one of the first to assess landscape dynamics of the Mediterranean semi-arid region of Chile. This is important because it aids decision-making for biodiversity conservation in a global hotspot and land-use planning.

Popular trees that are known to grow well in a region are often the first ones people choose to plant in the landscapes that surround them. Historically, this has resulted in over-planting particular species, such as the American elm (Ulmus americana). This species had little genetic variation in its natural resistance to Dutch elm disease (Ophiostoma ulmi), leading to the death of most American elms. In many areas, the species of trees that are well suited to urban conditions are somewhat limited; those suitable as street trees are even more limited. Analyses of urban tree inventories worldwide show the problem of overplanting still exists in many cities, with the average abundance of the most common species being about 20% worldwide, while being over 40% in some cities. The current ability to clone trees with desirable characteristics means that many tree species planted today have even less genetic variation than those planted from seeds in previous decades. Climate change will bring new growing challenges for urban trees. Trees that grew well under environmental conditions of the past may no longer be suitable in the future. Coupling these factors places cities in danger of rapidly losing large numbers of urban trees, with grave environmental and human consequences, including increased urban heat island temperatures and more heat-related human deaths.

In the last two decades, the incorporation of green roofs and living walls in buildings has increased significantly worldwide because of their benefits such as building energy savings, promoting biodiversity, controlling water run-off, mitigating urban heat island effect, improving indoor and urban air quality, and connecting people with nature. However, few studies have quantified the impact of green roofs (GRs) and living walls (LWs) on mitigating air pollution, especially in semiarid climates where airborne particle matter (PM) levels are high. Therefore, the aim of this paper is quantifying the dry deposition of PM10 and PM2.5 by several vegetation species commonly used in GRs and LWs in semiarid climates. Five species (Pitosporumtobira, Lavandulaangustifolia, Lampranthusspectabillis, Sedumalbum, and Sedumreflexum) for GRs and four species (Apteniacordiflora, Erigeronkarvinskianus, Sedumpalmeri, and Sedumspuriump.) for LWs were tested in an experimental facility&mdash, through washing, filtering, and weighing&mdash, to quantify the dry deposition of PM2.5 and PM10 on vegetation leaves as well as PM captured by the leaf wax. The main result is that a significant amount of PM is deposited on the typical vegetation used in GRs and LWs in semiarid climates. However, large differences in PM dry deposition were found among species, ranging from 0.09 &mu, g/cm2∙h&minus, 1 to 1.32 &mu, 1 for PM2.5, 0.48 &mu, 1 to 4.7 &mu, 1 for PM10 and 0.41 &mu, 1 to 25.6 &mu, 1 for leaf wax. The species that showed the highest potential to capture PM were S. album, S. reflexum, S. palmeri, and L. spectabillis. This study shows this green infrastructures can contribute to mitigate air pollution, thus GRs and LWs have the potential for being included in decontamination plans.

Experiences with nature through visits to protected areas provide important cultural ecosystem services that have the potential to strengthen pro-environmental attitudes and behavior. Understanding accessibility to protected areas and likely preferences for enjoying the benefits of nature visits are key factors in identifying ways to reduce inequality in access and inform the planning and management for future protected areas. We develop, at a regional scale, a novel social media database of visits to public protected areas in part of the Chilean biodiversity hotspot using geotagged photographs and assess the inequality of access using the home locations of the visitors and socio-economic data. We find that 20% of the population of the region make 87% of the visits to protected areas. The larger, more biodiverse protected areas were the most visited and provided most cultural ecosystem services. Wealthier people tend to travel further to visit protected areas while people with lower incomes tend to visit protected areas that are closer to home. By providing information on the current spatial flows of people to protected areas, we demonstrate the need to expand the protected area network, especially in lower income areas, to reduce inequality in access to the benefits from cultural ecosystem services provided by nature to people.

Slides from the presentation at the Urban Biodiversity and Design, URBIO 2012, conference in Mumbai in October 2012.

The promotion of sustainable cities is critical under future environmental change and population growth. Cities in the present and future can ensure the provision of ecosystem services to their urban inhabitants. The urban forest is one of the main suppliers of ecosystem services in urban areas, and can provide the base information to quantify ecosystem services and disservices, detecting the areas were low provision of those occur. In this study multiple ecosystem services and disservices were quantified using transferable indicators in order to detect areas for environmental improvement. The set of spatially explicit indicators enables the detection of areas of low and high provision of ecosystem services. The analysis showed synergies existing among regulating, provisioning and supporting services, while trade-offs were found with cultural services and regulating, provisioning and supporting services. Ecosystem services provision was positively related to the amount of vegetation and negatively related to its degree of fragmentation. A high provision of ecosystem services was found in less populated areas, with more educated and affluent people, highlighting the strong relations existing between social vulnerabilities and areas of low provision of services. Results from this research provide insights on the role of policy makers on better distributed supply of ecosystem services and on how the landscape structure can be modified to plan for sustainable cities.

Diversity in the urban forest is important as it reduces risks from pests and diseases and from climate change and improves resilience in the supply of ecosystem services. To manage and improve diversity, there has been wide-spread acceptance of the 10/20/30 ‘rule of thumb’ proposed by Santamour, which states that municipal forests should comprise no more than 10% of any particular species, 20% of any one genus or 30% of any single family. While the implementation of targets based on Santamour's rule has contributed to a more diverse and resilient urban forest in many cities, there has been little empirical investigation of actual patterns of diversity occurring globally in different climates and land uses. In this study, we explored diversity and the relative abundance of the most common species, genus and family in 151 urban forest inventories from 108 different cities around the world. Observed patterns showed that relative abundance of the most common taxon was a good predictor of diversity and could be a useful measure of diversity for urban forest managers. Relative abundance of the most common taxon was much higher than the proposed benchmark at the species level, but comparable with proposed benchmarks at the genus and family level. Patterns varied by both climate and land use. Diversity was consistently lower in Continental climates and in streetscapes, and higher in Temperate climates and in urban forests that spanned multiple land uses. Further considerations in setting diversity benchmarks are discussed.

The urban forest provides valuable ecosystem services for enhancing human well-being. Its structure and composition determine the quantity and quality of these services. There has been little research on the heterogeneity in structure and composition of urban forests in the Australasian region, especially in the centre of a highly dynamic and rapidly urbanizing city. This paper quantifies the structure and the composition of the urban forest of Melbourne, Australia's city centre. The effects of land tenure and land use on the heterogeneity of canopy cover, tree density and canopy size were explored. Species and family composition by land use, land ownership and street type were also analysed using the Shannon–Wiener and Jaccard similarity indices. Most of the canopy cover in the city centre is located on public land and is unevenly distributed across the municipality. The mean canopy cover (12.3%) is similar to that found for whole city studies around the world, which often include peri-urban forests. Similarly to other cities, structure varied across different land uses, and tree size, density and cover varied with land tenure and street type. The diversity index shows that the urban forest is rich in species ( H ′ = 2.9) and is dominated by native species. Improving the distribution, and increasing tree cover and variety of species will result in a more resilient urban centre, able to provide multiple ecosystem services to their residents and its large population of visitors and workers. The study of the urban centre provides further understanding of compact city morphologies, and allows inter-city comparison independent of the size.

We investigated the effects of various anthropogenic factors on urban soil properties in subtropical, coastal Tampa, FL, USA. Specifically, we explored the influence of (i) urbanization as measured by land use, land cover, population density and years since urban development and (ii) socioeconomic conditions as reflected in household income and property values on bulk density (BD) and several key soil chemical properties. Results indicate that Tampa’s urban soils were affected to varying degrees by these factors with chemical properties being more variable than BD. Across land uses significant differences were found for Mehlich-1 (M1) extractable P, Ca and Na. A similar trend was observed for land-cover classes, although significant differences were also found for pH and M1-Cu. Soil properties had no statistically significant relationship with population density. However, time since urbanization did with M1-P and Na varying significantly across age categories. For our socioeconomic analyses, M1-K and Mg levels differed significantly by household income while pH, P, Ca and Na values differed significantly by property value. Overall, our findings indicate that despite their inherent heterogeneity, there are identifiable patterns among subtropical coastal urban soil properties. We suggest that a more thorough understanding of these patterns and their drivers is an essential first step towards developing soil management strategies aimed at maintaining environmental quality and ecosystem services in subtropical cities.

The social and ecological processes impacting on urban forests have been studied at multiple temporal and spatial scales in order to help us quantify, monitor, and value the ecosystem services that benefit people. Few studies have comprehensively analyzed the full suite of ecosystem services, goods (ESG), and ecosystem disservices provided by an urban forest. Indicators, however, are one approach that could be used to better understand the structure of an urban forest, the suite of ESG provided by urban forests, and their influence on human well-being using a simple, innovative and repeatable metric. This study presents a framework for developing indicators using field data, an urban forest functional model, and the literature. Urban tree and soil indicators for groups of ecosystem functions were used to statistically analyze the effects of urban morphology and socioeconomics on urban forest ESG. Findings show that the most influential ESG indicators were tree cover, soil pH, and soil organic matter. Indicators were significantly influenced by land use and time since urbanization, while analyses of property values and household income did not yield any particularly significant results. The indicators presented in this paper present a first approach to non-monetary valuation of urban forest ESG and can be used to develop urban forest structure management goals and to monitor the effects of urban greening policies on human well-being.

Our world is increasingly urbanizing which is highlighting that sustainable cities are essential for maintaining human well-being. This research is one of the first attempts to globally synthesize the effects of urbanization on ecosystem services and how these relate to governance, social development and climate. Three urban vegetation ecosystem services (carbon storage, recreation potential and habitat potential) were quantified for a selection of a hundred cities. Estimates of ecosystem services were obtained from the analysis of satellite imagery and the use of well-known carbon and structural habitat models. We found relationships between ecosystem services, social development, climate and governance, however these varied according to the service studied. Recreation potential was positively related to democracy and negatively related to population. Carbon storage was weakly related to temperature and democracy, while habitat potential was negatively related to democracy. We found that cities under 1 million inhabitants tended to have higher levels of recreation potential than larger cities and that democratic countries have higher recreation potential, especially if located in a continental climate. Carbon storage was higher in full democracies, especially in a continental climate, while habitat potential tended to be higher in authoritarian and hybrid regimes. Similar to other regional or city studies we found that the combination of environment conditions, socioeconomics, demographics and politics determines the provision of ecosystem services. Results from this study showed the existence of environmental injustice in the developing world.

There is little information on how urban forest ecosystems in South America and Mediterranean climates change across both space and time. This study statistically and spatially analyzed the spatio-temporal dynamics of Santiago, Chile's urban forest using tree and plot-level data from permanent plots from 2002 to 2014. We found mortality, ingrowth, and tree cover remained stable over the analysis period and similar patterns were observed for basal area (BA) and biomass. However, tree cover increased, and was greater in the highest socioeconomic stratum neighborhoods while it dropped in the medium and low strata. Growth rates for the five most common tree species averaged from 0.12 to 0.36 cm· year-1. Spatially, tree biomass and BA were greater in the affluent, northeastern sections of the city and in southwest peri-urban areas. Conversely, less affluent central, northwest, and southern areas showed temporal losses in BA and biomass. Overall, we found that Santiago's urban forest follows similar patterns as in other parts of the world; affluent areas tend to have more and better managed urban forests than poorer areas, and changes are primarily influenced by social and ecological drivers. Nonetheless, care is warranted when comparing urban forest structural metrics measured with similar sampling-monitoring approaches across ecologically disparate regions and biomes. © 2016 by the authors.

of a paper presented at the 2012 Urban Biodiversity Conference, on 9 October 2012, at IIT-Bombay, India.

Urbanization contributes to the loss of the world's biodiversity and the homogenization of its biota. However, comparative studies of urban biodiversity leading to robust generalities of the status and drivers of biodiversity in cities at the global scale are lacking. Here, we compiled the largest global dataset to date of two diverse taxa in cities: birds (54 cities) and plants (110 cities). We found that the majority of urban bird and plant species are native in the world's cities. Few plants and birds are cosmopolitan, the most common being Columba livia and Poa annua . The density of bird and plant species (the number of species per km 2 ) has declined substantially: only 8% of native bird and 25% of native plant species are currently present compared with estimates of non-urban density of species. The current density of species in cities and the loss in density of species was best explained by anthropogenic features (landcover, city age) rather than by non-anthropogenic factors (geography, climate, topography). As urbanization continues to expand, efforts directed towards the conservation of intact vegetation within urban landscapes could support higher concentrations of both bird and plant species. Despite declines in the density of species, cities still retain endemic native species, thus providing opportunities for regional and global biodiversity conservation, restoration and education.

Biomass is regarded as an important indicator of ecological and management processes in urban vegetation, difficult to measure but easy to interpret. Existence and growing rates of biomass can be used to calculate carbon storage and sequestration, estimate dry deposition of air pollution or volatile organic compound emissions. In cities, management practices also affect the amount and distribution of biomass components within a tree and local calibrated equations should be used. However, traditional destructive methods to gather the data necessary to build such equations are less practical in urban environments. The main objective of this work was to develop above ground biomass and leaf area models by using non destructive methods for common urban trees in Santiago, Chile. We used randomised branch sampling (RBS), a non-destructive method, and easily measured variables such as DBH and total height to estimate crown biomass and leaf area for the 11 most common urban tree species in Santiago. Results using equations developed in this study yielded crown biomass estimates, comparable and within the range of values reported in literature and within those obtained from urban forest structure models. Leaf area results yielded more reasonable estimates when compared to field data and urban forest structure models. These equations can be incorporated into urban forest function models for more precise estimates of Latin American temperate urban forest function. With increased sampling intensity the RBS sampling method could be presented as a non-destructive and repeatable method for estimating different types of urban tree crown characteristics., La biomasa es considerada un importante indicador de los procesos ecológicos y de manejo que ocurren en la vegetación urbana. Es difícil de medir pero fácil de interpretar, pues refleja las condiciones del sitio y de los recursos edáficos, hídricos y de radiación solar disponibles en él. En las ciudades, las prácticas de manejo sobre los árboles afectan la distribución de la biomasa en su interior y es necesario usar ecuaciones calibradas localmente para poder evaluar cada componente. Sin embargo, los métodos destructivos tradicionales, que se usan para recopilar los datos necesarios en la construcción de tales modelos, son poco aplicables en ambientes urbanos. En este estudio se utilizó el muestreo aleatorio de ramas (RBS), un método probabilístico no destructivo, y variables dendrométricas de fácil medición como DAP y altura total para estimar la biomasa aérea y el área foliar de árboles urbanos más comunes en Santiago, Chile. Los resultados del estudio arrojaron estimaciones de biomasa aérea comparables, y dentro del rango de valores, a los reportados en la literatura internacional, para bosques y árboles urbanos. Las estimaciones para área foliar arrojaron valores más razonables en comparación con los datos de campo y referencias internacionales. Estas ecuaciones pueden ser incorporadas en los modelos forestales urbanos incluyendo estimaciones más precisas y ajustadas a la realidad de América Latina. Aumentando la intensidad de muestreo de método RBS se podría usar como un método no-destructivo, replicable, para estimar diferentes tipos de características en árboles urbanos.