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Sustainability
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Patterns and Drivers of Urban Greenspace and Plant Diversity
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Patterns and Drivers of Urban Greenspace and Plant Diversity

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Urban and Rural Development".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 January 2026 | Viewed by 5042

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Huafeng Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Sanya Nanfan Institue, College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
Interests: urban forests; plant systematics; germplasm innovation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Within urban areas, greenspace and plant diversity play invaluable roles in providing ecological services and in increasing the well-being of local residents and the environment. For example, urban greenspace can accommodate existing, local plant diversity and may be vital to conservation efforts. Simultaneously, urban greenspace, which contains both native and non-native species, can serve as an important carbon sink and can aid in creating cooler microclimates. For these and other reasons, it is urgent to investigate the distribution patterns, driving mechanisms, and ecological service functions of urban plant biodiversity.

We propose this Special Issue at a time when society is undergoing rapid urbanization, and sites of urban development are experiencing considerable ecological changes, such as a loss of native species, urban heat island effects, as well as others. We welcome submissions covering the following research areas:
  1. The distribution patterns and driving mechanisms of urban plant diversity;
  2. The temporal and spatial variations in urban greenspace with rapid urbanization;
  3. The relationships between urban plant diversity and above-ground biomass;
  4. Plant–animal–fungal interactions in urbanized areas;
  5. Ecological service functions (e.g., regulating the microclimate) of urban plant diversity and greenspace.

Prof. Dr. Huafeng Wang
Guest Editor

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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2400 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

  • patterns
  • drivers
  • urban greenspace
  • plant diversity
  • ancient and old trees

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 3848 KiB  
Article
Study on the Optimization of Street Tree Management Strategies for Enhancing Growth and Carbon Storage Capacity
by Ki-Joon Park, Jin-Hyo Kim, Jung-Hwa Ra and Hyun-Ju Cho
Sustainability 2025, 17(7), 2943; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17072943 - 26 Mar 2025
Viewed by 724
Abstract
Average global temperatures have risen by approximately 1.1 °C above pre-industrial levels, prompting South Korea and many other countries to set a carbon neutrality goal by 2050. Expanding green spaces has been proposed as a landscape-based approach to achieving urban carbon neutrality. However, [...] Read more.
Average global temperatures have risen by approximately 1.1 °C above pre-industrial levels, prompting South Korea and many other countries to set a carbon neutrality goal by 2050. Expanding green spaces has been proposed as a landscape-based approach to achieving urban carbon neutrality. However, the dense development of urban areas presents spatial and economic constraints in securing new green spaces. As a result, street trees, an existing urban green infrastructure, are increasingly regarded as a practical solution to enhancing carbon storage. Nevertheless, concerns have been raised that street trees planted without a systematic management plan may suffer from reduced vitality, leading to diminished carbon storage capacity. Ultimately, these conditions can result in increased tree mortality, turning what should be carbon sinks into sources of emissions. Such tree mortality not only results in the loss of carbon storage but also degrades the urban landscape, making systematic street tree management essential. This study aimed to address these challenges by developing an effective diagnostic approach to assess street tree growth conditions and identify methods to improve their carbon storage capacity. The methodology included identifying diagnostic indicators through a review of prior research and conducting field surveys on 72 Ginkgo biloba in Dalseo-gu, Daegu Metropolitan City. Correlation and regression analyses were performed, taking into account both growth diagnostic indicators and environmental variables. The results revealed that traffic volume and service population were the main environmental factors affecting the carbon storage capacity of Ginkgo biloba. Among the individual growth characteristics, tree height (β = 0.514), chlorophyll content (β = 0.26), and stem vigor (β = 0.216) were found to have significant influences. Based on these findings, this study proposed a management strategy to enhance the growth and carbon storage potential of urban street trees. These results are expected to serve as a vital foundational resource, contributing to the development of practical street tree management guidelines that support sustainable urban environments and climate change mitigation efforts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Patterns and Drivers of Urban Greenspace and Plant Diversity)
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30 pages, 22234 KiB  
Article
Advancing Sustainability in Urban Planning by Measuring and Matching the Supply and Demand of Urban Green Space Ecosystem Services
by Man Li, Tao Chen, Juan Li, Guangbin Yang, Linglin Zhao, Qiangyang Cao, Li Yang and Yang Sun
Sustainability 2024, 16(23), 10306; https://doi.org/10.3390/su162310306 - 25 Nov 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2113
Abstract
As global cities rapidly develop, the realization of sustainable urban development has become a pressing global concern. As a critical component of the urban built environment, urban green spaces are essential for maintaining the sustainability of urban ecosystems by offering a variety of [...] Read more.
As global cities rapidly develop, the realization of sustainable urban development has become a pressing global concern. As a critical component of the urban built environment, urban green spaces are essential for maintaining the sustainability of urban ecosystems by offering a variety of ecological benefits. However, there are some problems in the design and construction of urban green framework, which often disregard the real needs of residents and hinder the sustainable development of urban areas. Therefore, urban planning that takes into account the supply and demand relationship of urban green space is considered to be a key technology that should help to improve residents’ happiness and promote urban sustainable development. This paper takes Zunyi City as an example; selects six indicators; combines UAV images, population, economic, and environmental data to evaluate ecosystem services valuation existing green space in the city; and analyzes its social and ecological needs. Affected by land utilization and development density, the supply value showed low spatial density characteristics in the central urban area and high spatial distribution characteristics in the surrounding urban area. The correlation between demand value and population density is the largest, and the distribution pattern is similar to that of population density. The supply-demand ratio in the study area is −0.54, indicating a severe imbalance between supply and demand. The correlation analysis between the comprehensive supply and demand ratio and each influencing factor shows that the correlation with population density is the largest. The combination of supply and demand maps addresses a major problem in planning, namely, ensuring that communities have priority in providing urban green space based on society’s need for ecosystem services. In addition, these maps will help develop the best green space planting plans to meet the specific needs of different communities. Taken together, the findings can help city planners and decision makers improve the layout of urban green areas, increase ecosystem service potential, and improve urban environmental quality and sustainability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Patterns and Drivers of Urban Greenspace and Plant Diversity)
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27 pages, 5256 KiB  
Article
Luxury Effect, Heritage Effect, and Land Use Hypotheses Revealing Land Cover Distribution in Hainan Island, China
by Meihui Zhu, Qian Li, Jiali Yuan, Joel B. Johnson, Jianpeng Cui and Huafeng Wang
Sustainability 2024, 16(16), 7194; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16167194 - 21 Aug 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1659
Abstract
Land cover analysis is a key method used to understand past land use patterns and explore the driving forces and processes behind them. This study focuses on land cover in 18 counties and cities of Hainan Island, delving into the driving factors of [...] Read more.
Land cover analysis is a key method used to understand past land use patterns and explore the driving forces and processes behind them. This study focuses on land cover in 18 counties and cities of Hainan Island, delving into the driving factors of land cover in specific areas of Hainan Island, including the southern, northern, eastern, western, inland, and coastal regions. The effects of socio-economic factors, landscape pattern, and urban functional units on land cover are considered, and three hypotheses are proposed to explain the observed trends. The results indicate that house prices are positively correlated with construction area, woodlands land, and urban green space, thereby supporting the luxury effect hypothesis on land cover. In addition, construction age was negatively correlated with the woodlands area, confirming the role of the inverse legacy effect hypothesis in land cover. Other relationships between urban functional units and land cover emphasized the importance of the land use hypothesis in land cover planning. These results will help decision-makers and managers to better understand the current drivers of land cover, allowing for a more scientific basis when planning and managing urban land cover. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Patterns and Drivers of Urban Greenspace and Plant Diversity)
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