The Role of Urban Trees in Ecology Protection

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Urban Forestry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2025) | Viewed by 549

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
College of Landscape Architecture, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China
Interests: urban forest; structural diversity; ecosystem function; landscape ecological remote sensing; ecological conservation

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Guest Editor
College of Wildlife and Protected Area, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China
Interests: landscape ecology; ecosystem function; landscape ecological remote sensing; environmental impact assessment; ecological conservation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over 50% of the global population and 80% of economic activities are concentrated in urban areas, significantly altering energy exchange patterns within urban ecosystems. This shift has triggered numerous climate and ecological challenges, such as urban heat islands, excessive carbon emissions, and biodiversity loss, posing significant threats to global ecological security and human health. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), urban forest ecosystems offer a nature-based, cost-effective solution for ecological conservation. These ecosystems can regulate critical ecological processes, such as warming, carbon cycling, air pollution, and biological invasions through shading, buffering, and the decoupling of the upper and lower canopies, potentially contributing up to 30% of available mitigation measures over the next decade. Conducting research on the optimization of urban forests’ three-dimensional structures and ecological function enhancement is crucial for maintaining urban ecosystem stability. This Special Issue focuses on the latest research advancements and application outcomes in global urban tree monitoring and ecological protection and restoration.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Theoretical explorations of urban forests in response to rapid urbanization processes;
  • Methodological innovations in the three-dimensional structure and function monitoring of urban forests;
  • Optimization and enhancement of ecosystem service functions of urban forests;
  • Innovative models for urban forest reconstruction to enhance urban ecological resilience.

Prof. Dr. Lei Wang
Dr. Yunlong Yao
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • urban ecosystems
  • urban heat island effect
  • urban ecological carbon sink
  • urban biodiversity
  • monitoring of urban forest structure and function
  • urban forest landscape planning and design
  • improvement of urban forests and human well-being

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

24 pages, 14653 KiB  
Article
Heterogeneity and Influencing Factors of Carbon Sequestration Efficiency of Green Space Patterns in Urban Riverfront Residential Blocks
by Yunfang Jiang, Di Xu, Lixian Peng, Xianghua Li, Tao Song and Fangzhi Zhan
Forests 2025, 16(4), 681; https://doi.org/10.3390/f16040681 - 14 Apr 2025
Viewed by 145
Abstract
Green spaces in waterfront residential blocks, where the water landscape and green space intersect, have a special carbon sequestration effect due to the distinct ecological interaction between water bodies and green spaces. Studying the carbon sequestration efficiency of green space patterns is crucial [...] Read more.
Green spaces in waterfront residential blocks, where the water landscape and green space intersect, have a special carbon sequestration effect due to the distinct ecological interaction between water bodies and green spaces. Studying the carbon sequestration efficiency of green space patterns is crucial for enhancing urban ecological quality. Herein, 100 residential blocks adjacent to water bodies in Shanghai were selected as case areas, and green space pattern classification, random forest algorithm and spatial configuration quantitative analysis were used to analyse the impact of spatial morphology factors, surrounding building environment and water–green coupling environment on the CS efficiency of the green space in residential blocks. The results showed that the importance of the green space morphology index influencing CS is significantly greater than that of the building environment index. Among the indices, the fraction vegetation coverage, coverage ratio of evergreen broadleaved trees and canopy coverage of the green space have a more significant effect. Moreover, the different types and compositions of tree species in residential green spaces have different impacts on CS. Residential blocks with higher levels of water surface ratio (Wr) have a slightly higher CS of the internal green space. In residential blocks 500 m from water bodies, Wr has a significant impact on the CS capacity of the green space. The blocks with an external greenway pattern and external greenway–green grid pattern provide an advantageous environment for CS. This study provides a reasonable basis for the development of riverfront green spaces to increase carbon sequestrations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Urban Trees in Ecology Protection)
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