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Urban Forests and Ecosystem Services
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Urban Forests and Ecosystem Services

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 December 2026 | Viewed by 2445

Editors

Dr. Le Li

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Research Institute of Tropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Guangzhou 510520, China
Interests: ecosystem services; hydrological process; landscape pattern; land use change; climate change
Dr. Alessandro Paletto

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, Research Centre for Forestry and Woody, 38123 Trento, Italy
Interests: ecosystem services; public participation; stakeholder analysis; cultural services; forest planning and management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Urban forests are vital green infrastructure, delivering critical ecosystem services essential for sustainable and resilient cities. This Special Issue of Forests will focus on the multifaceted roles of urban trees and woodlands in enhancing human well-being and environmental quality. We invite original research and reviews addressing the quantification, valuation, mapping, and management of ecosystem services provided by urban forests. Key areas of interest include climate regulation (carbon sequestration, urban heat island mitigation), air and water purification, biodiversity conservation, noise reduction, recreation, and mental health benefits. We particularly welcome studies that explore innovative methodologies for assessing ecosystem service flows, the impacts of urbanization pressures and climate change, socio-ecological dynamics, equitable access, and evidence-based strategies for optimizing urban forest planning, design, and governance. The manuscripts in this Special Issue will advance our understanding of how urban forests contribute to healthier, more livable and sustainable urban environments globally.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Innovative assessment tools for mapping ecosystem service flows in cities;
  • Biodiversity conservation and ecosystem resilience in urban woodlands;
  • Quantifying urban forest carbon sequestration and climate regulation;
  • Urban forest and the hydrological cycle;
  • Climate-adaptive strategies for sustainable urban forest management;
  • Urban forests for heat island mitigation.

Dr. Le Li
Dr. Alessandro Paletto
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • urban forest
  • ecosystem services
  • biodiversity
  • ecosystem resilience
  • ecosystem service flows
  • multi-objective management
  • heat island

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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20 pages, 11742 KB  
Article
The Mitigating Effect of Urban Forest Landscape Structure on Urban Heat Islands: Nonlinear Response and Interaction Effect
by Na Wang, Le Li, Shan Jin and Lingling Zhao
Forests 2026, 17(6), 694; https://doi.org/10.3390/f17060694 - 11 Jun 2026
Viewed by 209
Abstract
Investigating the spatiotemporal dynamics of urban heat islands and their responses to urban forest (UF) landscape patterns is crucial for mitigating urban thermal stress. However, the nonlinear influence and conditional constraints of UF landscape composition and configuration on the warming effects across varying [...] Read more.
Investigating the spatiotemporal dynamics of urban heat islands and their responses to urban forest (UF) landscape patterns is crucial for mitigating urban thermal stress. However, the nonlinear influence and conditional constraints of UF landscape composition and configuration on the warming effects across varying urbanization gradients remain inadequately understood. By integrating land use/cover data, MODIS-derived land surface temperature (LST), and meteorological datasets, this study employed the XGBoost-SHAP model to quantify the nonlinear and interaction effects of UF landscape patterns on developed and developing urban regions of the Pearl River Delta. The results indicate that (1) spatial clustering patterns of warming varied significantly between the two regions, with substantial seasonal heterogeneities (p < 0.05). Summer exhibited the most intense warming, characterized by more rapid temperature increase in developed areas than in developing regions. (2) Relative to UF landscape metrics, the proportion of impervious surfaces, precipitation, and temperature exerted greater influence on regional warming. Coverage area, fragmentation, and connectivity of UFs emerged as the primary landscape drivers modulating warming. In developed areas, spatial configuration metrics exerted greater influence on LST than compositional metrics. (3) The responses of LST to diverse UF landscape patterns are characterized by nonlinearity and pronounced threshold effects. These landscape thresholds vary by season, revealing critical tipping points for warming suppression; however, this regulatory effect is highly context-dependent. Specifically, under high percentages of impervious surface, the warming-suppression capacity of UFs intensifies with increasing percentage of UF area or core. Our findings highlight the necessity of strategic UF planning and forest fragmentation mitigation for developing effective climate resilience strategies. These results provide a foundation for adaptive planning tailored to specific urbanization stages and the implementation of targeted UF cooling strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Forests and Ecosystem Services)
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27 pages, 3397 KB  
Article
Assessment on Ecological Health Effects of Plant Communities in Typical Urban Green Spaces: A Multi-Scale Comparative Study
by Jiyuan Zhang, Nan Li, Chang Yang, Jingwen Bi, Yawen Shen and Enlong Xia
Forests 2026, 17(4), 488; https://doi.org/10.3390/f17040488 - 15 Apr 2026
Viewed by 380
Abstract
The eco-health effects of urban green spaces are playing a vital role in mitigating urban environmental stress and promoting residents’ well-being. However, the specific differences and dominant factors influencing these effects across different green space types and plant community structures have not been [...] Read more.
The eco-health effects of urban green spaces are playing a vital role in mitigating urban environmental stress and promoting residents’ well-being. However, the specific differences and dominant factors influencing these effects across different green space types and plant community structures have not been fully elucidated. This study selected three typical green spaces in Tianfu New District of Chengdu—regional green space, comprehensive park, and specialized park—and focused on four community structures: tree–shrub–herb, tree–herb, tree-only, and herb-only. Multi-scale in situ monitoring was conducted during summer, and a comprehensive index method was employed for evaluation. The results demonstrated that (1) the tree–shrub–herb multi-layered structure exhibited the optimal eco-health function at the community scale, with a PM2.5 reduction rate of 73.86%, a noise reduction rate of 25.13%, and a negative air ion supply rate of up to 396%, significantly outperforming other structures. (2) The overall effect of regional green space (composite index 10.41) at the site scale was significantly higher than that of comprehensive parks (6.42) and specialized parks (5.87), respectively. (3) The eco-health effect increased with the complexity of the community structure, ranking as: tree–shrub–herb > tree-only > tree–herb > herb-only, highlighting the prominent contribution of the tree layer. Plant diversity showed a positive but non-significant trend. In conclusion, this multi-scale comparative study clarifies the differential impacts of green space types and community structures on the eco-health effect. It is recommended that urban planning prioritizes the layout of regional green spaces and adopts the tree–shrub–herb multi-layered structure as the dominant configuration in design in order to enhance the eco-health effect. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Forests and Ecosystem Services)
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14 pages, 2141 KB  
Article
Morphological Response of Urban Trees to Pruning: A Case Study of Acacia auriculiformis Across Size Classes
by Kaiheng Liu, Nancai Pei, Yanjun Sun, Jiameng Zhou, Wei Guo and Can Lai
Forests 2025, 16(12), 1826; https://doi.org/10.3390/f16121826 - 5 Dec 2025
Viewed by 804
Abstract
Pruning is a regular and essential urban tree maintenance practice aimed at sustaining overall health, ecosystem services, and public safety. However, knowledge of post-pruning recovery dynamics remains limited, which in turn hinders accurate assessments of growth and ecological functions. To address this, we [...] Read more.
Pruning is a regular and essential urban tree maintenance practice aimed at sustaining overall health, ecosystem services, and public safety. However, knowledge of post-pruning recovery dynamics remains limited, which in turn hinders accurate assessments of growth and ecological functions. To address this, we examined recovery dynamics of Acacia auriculiformis, a common urban species. Tree height and crown radius were recorded monthly for 12 months after pruning. Trees were classified into two size groups based on diameter at breast height (DBH, trunk diameter measured at 1.3 m above ground): medium (DBH < 45 cm) and large (DBH ≥ 45 cm). A generalized linear mixed model (GLMM), appropriate for repeated measures and non-normal data, was fitted using a Tweedie distribution and a log-link function to model the recovery pattern. Results showed continuous growth over time, with medium-sized trees presenting significantly higher crown radius growth than large trees (p = 0.006), while height growth did not differ (p = 0.788). The best model for height included time (AIC = −846.4), whereas crown recovery was best modelled by time and size class (AIC = −1586.6). These findings demonstrate that, in this study, medium-sized A. auriculiformis generally recover faster, especially in crown expansion. This exploratory study suggests that tree size may influence post-pruning recovery and can provide a reference for subsequent differentiated management studies. The morphological modeling further provides preliminary quantitative evidence for annual recovery dynamics in urban A. auriculiformis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Forests and Ecosystem Services)
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Review

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14 pages, 1166 KB  
Review
Integrating Habitat Suitability in Urban Forest Ecosystem Service Assessments: Reflections from i-Tree Wildlife
by Susannah B. Lerman, Corinne G. Bassett, Daniel E. Crane, David J. Nowak, Alexis Ellis and Jason Henning
Forests 2026, 17(5), 620; https://doi.org/10.3390/f17050620 - 20 May 2026
Viewed by 301
Abstract
Urban forests support wildlife populations across North America and the world. Yet, challenges remain for research and practice to integrate wildlife habitat as a core component of the myriad objectives that urban foresters manage. Ecosystem services have been adopted as a dominant paradigm [...] Read more.
Urban forests support wildlife populations across North America and the world. Yet, challenges remain for research and practice to integrate wildlife habitat as a core component of the myriad objectives that urban foresters manage. Ecosystem services have been adopted as a dominant paradigm in urban forestry for both advocacy and management, yet accounting for contributions to wildlife habitat does not fit squarely within typical ecosystem service frameworks. The i-Tree program, a suite of urban forest ecosystem service models and tools developed by the US Forest Service, presented an opportunity to link widely used urban forest assessment field protocols with indicators of suitable habitat. In this reflection piece, we demonstrate how the i-Tree Wildlife project assessed whether urban forest structural assessment methods could be applied to assess wildlife habitat provision, operationalizing the fundamental question “How do urban forests support wildlife?” We describe the development process for integrating bird habitat suitability models for 12 species present in the northeastern US, ten native and two non-native birds, into the flagship i-Tree Eco tool. We offer reflections, challenges, and opportunities from this process. Ultimately, the improvement of ecosystem assessment tools like i-Tree can assist practitioners who aim to manage healthy and productive urban forests that benefit people and wildlife. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Forests and Ecosystem Services)
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