Protection and Management of Urban Parks and Nature Reserves

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2026 | Viewed by 817

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Landscape Architecture, School of Architecture and Urban Studies, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
Interests: landscape

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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
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
College of Wildlife and Protected Area, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China
Interests: remote sensing of wetlands; plant diversity; wetland restoration
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Urban biodiversity conservation and sustainable green space management are critical challenges in an era of rapid urbanization. Urban parks, nature reserves, and peri-urban forests play a vital role in preserving wildlife habitats, mitigating environmental pollution, and enhancing human well-being. These green spaces not only support ecological resilience but also provide essential recreational and health benefits for urban populations.

However, human exploitation continues to compete for natural space. Therefore, in the urban environment, the boundaries of harmonious coexistence between humans and nature should be studied as much as possible. The impact on ecosystems and biodiversity brought about by human encroachment on land resources, various types of pollution, and fragmentation of landscape patterns should be clearly measured. Against this background, this Special Issue explores strategies for the effective protection and management of urban green spaces, including forests, parks, and nature reserves. Key themes include

  • Biodiversity conservation in urban and peri-urban ecosystems, including forests and woodlands;
  • Ecological thresholds and indicators for sustainable green space management;
  • Human–nature coexistence, focusing on balancing recreational use with habitat preservation;
  • Innovative management approaches for urban forests, parks, and protected areas;
  • Climate resilience and ecosystem services provided by urban and peri-urban green infrastructure;
  • Use of cutting-edge technologies, such as AI, to accurately analyze biodiversity and anthropogenic impacts in urban environments;
  • Impacts of light and sound pollution on biodiversity and related mitigation strategies;
  • Case studies demonstrating how urban green spaces and biodiversity contribute to human well-being;
  • Best practices for managing urban green spaces to promote biodiversity conservation.

Dr. Xiaoqing Xu
Prof. Dr. Lei Wang
Prof. Dr. Yunlong Yao
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

  • green space
  • urban parks
  • urban biodiversity
  • biodiversity conservation
  • environmental pollution
  • urban ecosystems

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

28 pages, 8320 KB  
Article
Identification, Evaluation and Optimization of Urban Park System Network Structure
by Ying Yang, Kai Wang, Li Jiang and Song Liu
Forests 2026, 17(2), 186; https://doi.org/10.3390/f17020186 - 30 Jan 2026
Viewed by 548
Abstract
A well-structured urban park system (UPS) is crucial for optimizing urban spatial layout and improving the quality of the human living environment. In response to the tendency of current planning to prioritize quantitative indicators while overlooking the relational structure arising from the collective [...] Read more.
A well-structured urban park system (UPS) is crucial for optimizing urban spatial layout and improving the quality of the human living environment. In response to the tendency of current planning to prioritize quantitative indicators while overlooking the relational structure arising from the collective spatial configuration of parks, this study introduces Social Network Analysis (SNA) to evaluate the spatial structure of Shanghai’s park system by constructing a service-coverage overlap network. The findings reveal the following: (1) Parks with high degree centrality are concentrated in high-density urban core areas due to service overlap, whereas large suburban parks with high betweenness centrality function as critical bridging hubs, reflecting a polycentric structure. (2) There is a discernible discrepancy between these emergent network tiers and the statutory park hierarchy, highlighting a tension between bottom-up spatial patterns and top-down planning frameworks. (3) Stability simulations indicate a dual character of the system, where the network topology is vulnerable to attacks yet functionally resilient to failures due to spatial redundancy, suggesting that a decline in service quality may precede the loss of basic accessibility. This study demonstrates the value of SNA in diagnosing park system structure, identifying key nodes, and assessing system resilience. The insights advocate for planning approaches that transcend rigid hierarchical frameworks, integrate the actual functional roles of parks, and protect structural hubs, thereby enhancing systemic resilience and promoting equitable service provision. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Protection and Management of Urban Parks and Nature Reserves)
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