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Forests
Special Issues
Ecological Functions of Urban Green Spaces
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Ecological Functions of Urban Green Spaces

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026 | Viewed by 1639

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Zhipeng Zhu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Fujian University of Technology, 69 Xuefunan Rd, Fuzhou 350118, China
Interests: landscape planning and design; urban green space services; urban green space and urban thermal environment
Prof. Dr. Jianwen Dong

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Landscape Architecture and Art, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
Interests: urban forest theory and practice; planning of forest parks and scenic spots; landscape and health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Jinda Qi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Architecture, College of Design and Engineering, National University of Singapore, 4 Architecture Drive, Singapore 117566, Singapore
Interests: AI-based decision-making process for urban heat mitigation and quantitative landscape design for health promotion
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Xiong Yao

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Fujian University of Technology, 69 Xuefunan Rd, Fuzhou 350118, China
Interests: climate change and adaptive planning; urban green space and air pollution
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Weicong Fu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Landscape Architecture and Art, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
Interests: service function of urban green spaces and the well-being of residents; urban green space biodiversity
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The rapid development of global industrialization and urbanization in recent decades, while leading to significant economic growth and more convenient lifestyles, has brought about a series of environmental problems, including global warming, air pollution, ecosystem chaos, biodiversity declines, etc. These problems will also seriously threaten the regular survival, production and life of human beings. Due to these problems, the ecological function of urban green space has received much global attention. Urban green space plays multiple roles in urban ecological, social and economic services, is an indispensable part of the urban ecosystem, and has an indispensable function in improving environmental problems and promoting sustainable urban development. This Special Issue aims to discuss the role of the ecological function of urban green space in alleviating urban environmental problems, as well as to study the use and management of urban green space in sustainable urban development. Through this series of research, we will explore how to better utilize the ecological and social service functions of urban green space and promote the sustainable development of cities.

The research collected in this Special Issue includes, but is not limited to, the following topics: ecological functions of urban forestry; accessibility and equity of urban green spaces; the impact of urban forestry on the microclimate; urban green spaces and the well-being of residents; urban forestry and resilient cities; urban green spaces and social justice; governance, planning and management of urban green spaces; urban green spaces in smart cities; urban biodiversity; urban green spaces and air pollution; and sustainable development in cities.

Dr. Zhipeng Zhu
Prof. Dr. Jianwen Dong
Dr. Jinda Qi
Dr. Xiong Yao
Dr. Weicong Fu
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 green space
  • ecological functions
  • urban sustainability
  • climate change
  • air pollution
  • social justice
  • socio-economic benefits
  • resilient cities
  • smart cities
  • health
  • urban biodiversity
  • landscape and urban planning

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

30 pages, 7662 KB  
Article
Quantifying Multi-Scale Carbon Sink Capability in Urban Green Spaces Using Integrated LiDAR
by Yuhao Fang, Wenling Song, Yilun Cao, Shuge Su and Yuning Cheng
Forests 2026, 17(1), 34; https://doi.org/10.3390/f17010034 - 26 Dec 2025
Viewed by 189
Abstract
Urban green spaces play a vital role in climate change mitigation through carbon sequestration and storage. However, accurately quantifying their carbon sink capability remains challenging due to complex vertical structures and spatial heterogeneity. This study proposes a comprehensive inventory framework integrating multi-source LiDAR [...] Read more.
Urban green spaces play a vital role in climate change mitigation through carbon sequestration and storage. However, accurately quantifying their carbon sink capability remains challenging due to complex vertical structures and spatial heterogeneity. This study proposes a comprehensive inventory framework integrating multi-source LiDAR (UAV and Backpack) with a phenology-based complementary strategy to quantify carbon dynamics across three nested scales: green space types, plant communities, and species. Two key indicators—Carbon Sequestration Efficiency (CSE) and Carbon Density (CD)—were used to evaluate both the dynamic and static aspects of carbon sink function. The results reveal a clear asynchrony between CSE and CD across scales. No single plant type performed best in both dimensions, indicating a trade-off between growth efficiency and biomass accumulation. Hierarchical clustering identified distinct plant groups with divergent carbon sink strategies, supporting nuanced vegetation selection. The dual-indicator and dual-platform approach proposed in this study advances our existing understanding of the carbon sequestration capacity of urban green spaces and provides a robust methodological foundation for data-driven low-carbon urban ecological planning. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological Functions of Urban Green Spaces)
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20 pages, 7574 KB  
Article
Spatial Visibility in Urban Parks and Social Functions: A Multimodal Correlational Study
by Yuxiang Liu, Yi Chen, Shuhan Zhou, Kaixuan Chen, Shuang Zhao and Mingze Chen
Forests 2025, 16(12), 1874; https://doi.org/10.3390/f16121874 - 18 Dec 2025
Viewed by 304
Abstract
Urban parks are fundamental to building sustainable and inclusive cities, yet the mechanisms linking their spatial configuration to human activities and social functions remain insufficiently understood. A scalable multimodal framework is developed to quantify how spatial visibility is associated with patterns of park [...] Read more.
Urban parks are fundamental to building sustainable and inclusive cities, yet the mechanisms linking their spatial configuration to human activities and social functions remain insufficiently understood. A scalable multimodal framework is developed to quantify how spatial visibility is associated with patterns of park use and the provision of social ecosystem services. A total of 94,635 geo-tagged user-generated images from 148 parks in Vancouver, Canada, were analyzed using the Contrastive Language-Image Pretraining (CLIP) model to classify user activities into six behavioral categories. Concurrently, airborne LiDAR data and space syntax analysis were used to derive three visibility metrics—Mean Isovist Area (MIA), reflecting internal openness; Mean Visual Integration (MVI), indicating visual connectivity within the park interior; and External Isovist Ratio (EIR), representing edge openness and boundary visibility. The results indicate that EIR exhibits the strongest and most consistent relationships with user activity patterns, positively associated with family recreation, social vibrancy, and physical activity, while negatively linked to nature immersion and quiet relaxation. MIA shows moderate associations with socially interactive and child-oriented activities, whereas MVI contributes little explanatory power compared to localized visibility conditions. These findings highlight spatial visibility as a critical design attribute that is closely associated with human–forest interactions. By illustrating that moderate visual openness and edge permeability are associated with more inclusive and multifunctional patterns of park use, actionable insights are provided for urban park planning and design, and the promotion of social sustainability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological Functions of Urban Green Spaces)
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19 pages, 2903 KB  
Article
Development of an Indicator Assessment Framework for Urban Forest Effects Through a Scoping Review
by Jinsuk Jeong, Hye-Rin Joo, Hong-Duck Sou, Sumin Choi and Chan-Ryul Park
Forests 2025, 16(12), 1870; https://doi.org/10.3390/f16121870 - 17 Dec 2025
Viewed by 392
Abstract
Urban forests offer a range of environmental, climatic, economic, and social benefits to citizens. However, these effects have not been systematically measured owing to the localized nature of urban forests. This study developed a framework to assess the effects of urban forest ecosystem [...] Read more.
Urban forests offer a range of environmental, climatic, economic, and social benefits to citizens. However, these effects have not been systematically measured owing to the localized nature of urban forests. This study developed a framework to assess the effects of urban forest ecosystem services and elucidate the service and benefit pathways of its indicators. Two PRISMA-guided scoping reviews were conducted using Web of Science and Scopus to identify English peer-reviewed articles (2015–2024) on the effects of urban forests and indicators. The studies on the urban forest effects were analyzed to systematically code and classify the criteria, effects, methods, and techniques based on the nature-based solutions. In terms of indicators, the ecosystem service cascade was employed to organize indicators across four pathways with structures/function, service, benefit, and value. The review revealed that temperature regulation, air pollution reduction, and carbon sequestration were the most studied effects, followed by social effects; in contrast, economic benefits and sound and noise were the least studied and assessed. Furthermore, indicator pathways were found to vary by effects. Drawing on this scoping review, a standard and expanded indicator assessment framework was developed. The proposed framework provides a decision-support tool to assess urban forest performance based on evidence, facilitating link between biophysical properties and human outcomes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological Functions of Urban Green Spaces)
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24 pages, 8449 KB  
Article
From Ecological Functions to Green Space Management: Driving Factors and Planning Implications of Urban Ecosystem Service Bundles
by Jingyi Wei, Mengbo Wu, Na Liu, Daihui Rao, Xiong Yao and Zhipeng Zhu
Forests 2025, 16(12), 1856; https://doi.org/10.3390/f16121856 - 14 Dec 2025
Viewed by 308
Abstract
Amidst rapid urbanization, balancing ecological protection with development demands has become a critical challenge for sustainable planning. This article collected data on the natural geography and socio-economic aspects of Fuzhou City and quantified five key ecosystem services—crop production, water yield, carbon sequestration, soil [...] Read more.
Amidst rapid urbanization, balancing ecological protection with development demands has become a critical challenge for sustainable planning. This article collected data on the natural geography and socio-economic aspects of Fuzhou City and quantified five key ecosystem services—crop production, water yield, carbon sequestration, soil conservation, and habitat quality—using the InVEST model. By using SOFM to identify different ESBs and combining sensitivity analysis to form different ecological functional zones, and using geographic detectors to detect their driving factors, this aims to provide a framework for urban green space management. The results indicate that ecosystem services have a significant northwest southeast spatial gradient and can be divided into five types of ESBs. Among them, the core ecological clusters account for 59.36% of the study area and are mainly distributed in the forest-covered northwest region. Based on different service bundles and sensitivity levels, it is divided into five ecological functional zones. Geographic detector analysis shows that the interaction effect between natural factors (such as altitude and precipitation) and socio-economic factors (such as GDP density and land use) significantly enhances the explanatory power of ESB distribution. This study provides a transferable model for ecological management in global coastal cities facing similar terrain complexity and urbanization pressures. The framework demonstrates how understanding ecosystem service packages and their driving factors can effectively guide urban ecological planning decisions and provide valuable insights into coordinating ecological protection and urban development through targeted green space management methods. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological Functions of Urban Green Spaces)
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