Influences on the use of urban green space – A case study in Odense,Denmark

Increasing the use of urban green space has appeared on the political agenda, primarily because increased use is expected to improve the health and well-being of the urban population. Green space is contributing to restoring mental fatigue, serving as a resource for physical activity, reducing mortality and reducing the level of stress.However, knowledge and experience on how to implement this agenda are scarce. In this paper, we use a socio-ecological model as framework when studying influences on the use of respondents’ nearest urban green space in the Danish city of Odense. Data were obtained from a survey sent to 2500 randomly selected adult residents within the central part of the city. We tested the relative importance of different factors on the frequency of use of the nearest urban green space by using a multivariate logistic regression model. The results show that almost half of the respondents did not use their nearest green space the most. Whether or not respondent used their nearest green space most depends primarily on area size, distance to the area and factors that are likely to express a reduced mobility; old age, young children and poor health.If the nearest urban green space also is the most used green space, having a dog is the only factor that significantly increases the frequency of use. Further research is needed to determine what it is that makes people use an area more, if the basic conditions of a reasonable size (>5 ha) within a reasonable distance (<600 m) are fulfilled.     

The lawn as a social and cultural phenomenon in Sweden

Lawns have a significant influence on the cityscape as one of the essential elements of green spaces and an important part of people’s everyday lives. Most people in the Western world view lawns as a compulsory element of the urban landscape, almost an icon, without questioning their social, symbolic, ecological or aesthetic values. This research is a part of the conceptual framework and methodological approaches that are being used in an ongoing transdisciplinary collaboration project to study lawns in Sweden as a social and ecological phenomenon.The overall aim of this study was to investigate social and cultural perceptions of lawns, as well as motives behind decisions about the establishment and management of lawns in Sweden. Two multi-family housing typologies, the ‘Million Programme’ and ‘People’s Homes’, were examined due to their dominance in Swedish cities. We also studied how an alternative vision of conventional lawns can be applied and accepted by urban residents. We estimated lawn cover in multi-family housing areas and links to people’s perception and use of lawns. Questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and observational studies were used (N = 300). Our results showed that people like lawns even if they do not always directly use them. Lawns cover the most significant amount of outdoor spaces in all multi-family residential areas and accompany people everywhere from the house to the schoolyard or park. The total lawn cover in the study areas was 27.8%. Lawns were particularly valued as important places for different outdoor activities (playing, resting, picnicking, walking, socialising) and enjoying the green colour. However people do not want to use a vast monotonous lawn, but a variety of spaces that provide good conditions for different senses (sound, smell, touch and sight) and activities. Alternative lawns were also appreciated by many citizens, politicians, planners and managers. The implementation of new types of lawns requires special planning and design solutions adjusted for each particular neighbourhood.     

Planning small for winning big: Small urban green space distribution patterns in an expanding city

While major urban areas are expanding, becoming more crowded, vegetated lands areshrinking. Built-up densification limits the planning of large urban green spaces,depriving urban dwellers of the benefits provided by such structures. In this context,small public urban green spaces (SPUGS) become of high value for urban landscapes,and their distribution throughout the city should aim to compensate the lack of largergreen areas. The driving forces of SPUGS distribution may be linked to the urbanfunctions they are usually paired with.The current study aimed to determine which are the urban functions that benefit ofhigher amounts of SPUGS in their proximities and to map the distribution and densityof SPUGS within Bucharest, helping us expose the green deprived communities.Results revealed that multi-dwelling residential areas are the ones with higher share ofSPUGS within walking distance. Nevertheless, analysis on SPUGS deprivation withinthe city showed that communist planned residential neighbourhoods are greener thanthe ones developed in the past three decades. Healthcare and commercial functionswithin the city recorded smaller shares of SPUGS in their proximity, highlighting thatvulnerable groups (such as ill people) are exposed to less vegetation, and that publicplanning documents are not encouraging developers to allocate more land for greenfeature development.These results are relevant for projecting the quality of outdoor environmentsthroughout Romania’s capital and for assessing potential future managementchallenges. The outcomes of this research provide local policy makers and plannerswith the vulnerable areas in which immediate action for expanding the greeninfrastructures should take place. At the same time, the methodological approachdescribed in the study proved to be efficient in assessing the distribution of SPUGSthroughout the city and the determinants of this distribution. It can be easily replicatedin other cities by scholars and planners.     

Relation between visitors’ behaviour and characteristics of green spaces in the city of Granada,south-eastern Spain

This paper examines the relation between visitor behaviour and certain features of a number of major green spaces in the city of Granada, south-eastern Spain, focussing on key urban, ecological and landscape-related issues. Information on user profiles and numbers, the various uses made of these areas, their design, plant species richness and local urban and sociological background, was collected by means of in situ observation in a total of ten urban green spaces with surface areas of over 5000 m². Findings indicated that these spaces were used largely for purposes directly related to well-being: recreational and sporting activities, socialising, or simply relaxing. Interestingly, the most common activities in each space were governed by features intrinsic to the space itself: accessibility, design, maintenance and plant richness and distribution, all of which affected the health-related attributes and aesthetic value of the space. The study also highlighted a number of serious deficiencies in certain green spaces, which will need to be addressed in future action plans and replanning projects as an essential step in ensuring that they meet the real needs and expectations of the target population. The information provided by this research may prove particularly valuable for improving the systemic functions of green spaces in Mediterranean cities sharing similar bioclimatic and sociological features, and for ensuring that they fulfil the role assigned to green spaces in sustainable cities.     

Variations in land surface temperature and cooling efficiency of green space in rapid urbanization: The case of Fuzhou city,China

Rapid urbanization has caused significant land cover change (LCC) as well as changes in the land surface temperature (LST). However, the crucial land dynamic process, which could significantly contribute to the increase in LST and aggravation of the urban heat island (UHI) effect, remains poorly understood. Additionally, a strategy to optimize the most significant decreased land cover type in order to maximize the cooling effect is still lacking. Therefore, in this study, we selected the rapidly urbanizing and ‘hottest’ city in China, Fuzhou, as a case study. Two algorithms were selected to compare and obtain reliable LST data. A land use transfer matrix was used to detect critical contributions leading to the LST variations. The concept of cooling efficiency (CE) and the threshold value of efficiency (TVoE) are also proposed, defined, and calculated. The results show that LST values increased with increasing proportion of built-up land and sharply decreasing proportion of green space. Areas where LST differences exceed 4 °C cover 93% of the areas where green spaces decreased. Additionally, the LST variation is not only associated with the dominant land cover types but is also affected by the land cover transfer pattern and dynamics. Finally, we have calculated the TVoE of green space in Fuzhou city to be 4.55 ± 0.5 ha. This finding implies that when Fuzhou municipality implements urban/landscape planning, a green space area of 4.55 ± 0.5 ha is the most efficient to reduce the heat effect. This study extends the current understanding of LCC dynamics and LST variation. The concepts of the CE and TVoE are meaningful for landscape planning practice and can be used in other cases.     

Biological potential in cities: An estimate from Melbourne

Despite the many benefits of vegetation in urban settings, inner-city areas often are sparsely vegetated or devoid of plants. This suggests substantial opportunity for improving provision of ecosystem services in densely populated areas, through retrofitting of urban environments with plants. This paper introduces the concept of ‘biological potential’ – the pragmatic potential for urban areas to be retrofitted with suitable green infrastructure.This paper demonstrates a method for making a quantitative, spatially explicit estimate of the biological potential of walls in the CBD of Melbourne, Australia. The results of this study represent an estimate of how much wall space could be home to green façade plants (i.e. creepers and climbers). The methodology is also spatially explicit – it estimates where the best locations in the city are for this kind of greening, recognising that not all walls have suitable physical characteristics or local microclimates. Employing a combination of GIS and microclimatic modelling techniques, this study estimates that over 16 ha of wall space has potential for greening in Melbourne's CBD, with 1.8 ha showing optimal characteristics.     

Willingness to travel to avoid recreation conflicts in Danish forests

Conflicts among forest visitors have direct effects on the quality of a recreational experience. As the number of visitors to forests close to residential areas increases, as well as the number of different activities, so does the potential for perceived conflicts. According to the literature, expanding knowledge of conflict characteristics and their causes is important for recreation planners and managers who aim to reduce conflicts.In the present study, different forest user groups were identified and categorised according to their pursued activities, and for each group, causes of conflict were identified. Furthermore, a choice experiment was constructed to estimate the distance visitors are willing to travel to encounter few visitors as opposed to many visitors, and thereby potentially experience fewer conflicts. Comparing the marginal willingness to travel (WTT) of different user groups suggests that some groups have a WTT further than the average to reach a forest with ‘Few’ visitors. The average WTT to reach a forest area with ‘Few’ visitors. ‘Mountain bikers,’ ‘Peace and nature lovers’ and ‘Horse riders’ are willing to travel 4 km more than the average per visit to reach a less crowded forest. At the other end of the scale, we find that people who are doing physical exercise are willing to travel 2 km less than the average to reach a less crowded forest.     

A GIS-based mapping methodology of urban green roof ecosystem services applied to a Central European city

Green roofs provide a number of different urban ecosystem services (UESS), e.g. regulation of microclimate, support of air quality improvement, or stormwater retention. To estimate the spatial variation of green roof UESS across an urban area, a GIS-based mapping and spatial analysis methodology was established and applied to the city of Braunschweig, Germany. Based on the analysis of available geodata, in a first step, a quantity of 14,138 rooftops in the study area (14% of all buildings) was found to be generally suitable for greening. This resulted in a green roof area of 3 km². Based on criteria such as roof slope and minimum roof size, nearly two-thirds of these buildings (8596 buildings, 8.6% of total number of buildings) were categorised ‘appropriate’ for greening and subject to green roof UESS analysis.The spatial distribution of green roof UESS was estimated based on the categories thermal urban climate, air quality, stormwater retention and biodiversity. Due to their potential benefits in the four UESS categories an overall assessment resulted in a number of 867 roofs (0.9% of total number of buildings) categorised as ‘high benefit’ from rooftop greening. Another 3550 buildings (3.5%) and 4179 buildings (4.2%) were defined as ‘moderate benefit’ and ‘low benefit’, respectively. The inner city area of Braunschweig appears as a hot-spot of green roof UESS, i.e. higher percentage of ‘high benefit’ green roofs in comparison to residential areas. The proposed method is a simple but straightforward approach to analyse urban green roof UESS and their spatial distribution across a city but it is sensitive to the quality of the available input geodata.     

Urban green spaces for children: A cross-sectional study of associations with distance,physical activity,screen time,general health,and overweight

This study investigates the associations between: (i) urban green spaces (UGSs), children‘s frequency and duration of physical activity (PA), and screen time (TV viewing and computer use) and (ii) children‘s frequency and duration of PA and their general health and overweight. In this study, ‘children’ includes both younger children and adolescents, ages 1–18. Parent-reported data (n = 422) collected though face-to-face personal interviews between April 1 and May 31, 2015 in the city of Aydin, Turkey were used in the study. Multivariate regression analyses were conducted to examine the associations controlling for children’s sex, age, and parents’ monthly income. Stratified analyses were also conducted to determine differences between sex (boys and girls) and age (1–6, 7–12, and 13–18 years old) groups of children. The findings showed that UGS closeness to home was positively associated with higher frequency of children’s PA (b = −.22, p ≤.001) and less screen time (b = .18, p ≤.001). Results also revealed that children‘s frequency of PA positively correlated with children‘s general health (b = .08, p ≤.05), whereas overweight was associated with only age. In stratified analyses, nearest distance to UGSs was positively associated with both boys‘ and girls‘ frequency of PA. On the other hand, longer distance to UGS was associated with longer screen time for only girls. In regard to age groups, nearest distance to UGSs was related to higher frequency of PA for 1–6 and 7–12 years old, while nearest distance to UGS was associated with longer duration of PA and less screen time for only children ages 7–12. In age groups 13–18, no significant differences between variables of UGSs, PA and health were documented. No sex and age groups showed any significant associations with general health and overweight. The findings of this study suggest that distance to UGSs is important for children‘s PA, screen time, and general health. This study implies that UGSs do not seem to be associated with PA and general health in older age groups and needs further investigations.     

Exploring the urban park use,preference and behaviours among the residents of Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia

The understanding of cross-cultural upon park usage is vital to be enhanced among public since findings that been discovered in the Western context are not own any similarities with the Asian context. In fact, it has been in a long run for the Western nations to primarily contextualized and conceptualized much on the literature of park usage. This study aims to look at how the people use and perceive urban parks in their daily life in the Malaysian cultural context, and also highlights the constraints faced by Malaysians while using the urban parks in the city of Kuala Lumpur. A survey consisted of 669 urban park users as the sample of the study (365 men, 304 females) aged between 18 and 73 years (M = 34.85, SD = 11.46) were conducted in five urban parks in Kuala Lumpur. Respondents were recruited based on a random sampling method, which composed of three main ethnic groups in Malaysia. Malaysians wanted to use the urban parks for multiple purposes including active activities and others. Most of them would visit the parks and spend their time in a group consisting of family members or friends rather than alone. The percentage of respondent with 74.7% stated their reason of visiting the urban park in order “to get fresh air”, followed by the factor of reducing stress and relaxing with 69.7%; and the latter reason would be “to exercise, play games or keep in shape” with 61.4%. More than 80% of the respondents claimed the parks in Kuala Lumpur are safe to be visited. This is because, majority of the respondents tend to visit the parks in group of family or friends rather than alone. In addition, most of the respondents would run their activities in parks during the weekends, which simultaneously make them to enjoy their day in such comfortable and secure way. The findings of this survey would contribute to a better understanding of the present park usage of Kuala Lumpur residents. With a better understanding of current park-visiting habits, various constraints faced by the residents related to public security and safety, the Kuala Lumpur City Hall have been suggested to develop more comprehensive strategy in order to provide engagement and urban parks stimulation for its residents. In addition, this study is also fruitful for Kuala Lumpur future parks in terms of its development, design and management.     

A comparative study of chlorophyll loss and its related mechanism during fruit maturation in the pericarp of fast- and slow-degreening litchi pericarp

Changes in the levels of chlorophyll a and b and their derivatives, and chlorophyllase activities were compared in the pericarp of ‘Feizixiao’ (slow-degreening) and ‘Nuomici’ (fast-degreening) litchis (Litchi chinensis Sonn.). Cluster bagging and growth regulators were used to regulate the degreening process of ‘Feizixiao’. HPLC analysis revealed the presence of chlorophyllide a, pheophorbide a and pheophytin a as chlorophyll derivatives in litchi pericarp. Loss of chlorophylls in ‘Feizixiao’ pericarp was slower than that in ‘Nuomici’ pericarp. The concentrations of chlorophyll a and b in the pericarp of ‘Feizixiao’ were significantly higher than those in ‘Nuomici’ during fruit maturation, whereas the chlorophyll derivatives in the former were noticeably lower than in the latter. Chlorophyllase activity increased as chlorophylls diminished. Chlorophyllase activity peaked around the colour-break in ‘Nuomici’, being much higher than that in ‘Feizixiao’. Both cluster bagging and treatment with abscisic acid (ABA, 200 mg l⁻¹) or jasmonic acid (50 mg l⁻¹) significantly decreased the chlorophyll content and increased the chlorophyllase activity and the anthocyanin level. In fruit treated with 6-benzyl aminopurine (6-BA, 100 mg l⁻¹) the degradation of chlorophylls was delayed, with concomitant decrease of chlorophyllase activity and anthocyanin level. These results imply that chlorophyllase is the crucial factor in the regulation of the chlorophyll loss in the pericarp.     

Quality assessment of three warm-season turfgrasses growing in different substrate depths on shallow green roof systems

In an effort to increase the accessibility and functionality of shallow green roof systems, the ability of warm-season grasses to provide acceptable growth needs to be further investigated. In the current study, which was conducted during 2011 and 2012, three warm-season grasses (hybrid bermudagrass, Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. x C. transvaalensis Burtt-Davy ‘MiniVerde’; seashore paspalum, Paspalum vaginatum Swartz ‘Platinum TE’ and zoysiagrass, Zoysia japonica Steud. ‘Zenith’) were established in outdoor lysimeters. The lysimeters were equipped with all necessary green roof layers placed below a coarse-textured substrate that comprised pumice, thermally treated attapulgite clay, peat, compost and zeolite. Half of the lysimeters had a substrate depth of 15 cm, while the other half had a substrate depth of 7.5 cm. Irrigation was applied at crop evapotranspiration (ET_c). Measurements included determination of substrate moisture content, green turf cover (GTC) and leaf stomatal resistance. Significant differences were observed in the values of GTC among the three turfgrass species and the two substrate depths. Zoysiagrass exhibited the best adaptation at the lower depths of shallow green roof systems. At 15 cm substrate depth, zoysiagrass managed to sustain green coverage for the two study periods. In addition, it was the only turfgrass species that managed to perform well at the substrate depth of 7.5 cm. Seashore paspalum exhibited limited green cover at both substrate depths, while hybrid bermudagrass could provide acceptable green coverage only at 15 cm substrate depth.     

Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) as a marker of surrounding greenness in epidemiological studies: The case of Barcelona city

The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) is often used as a marker of surrounding greenness in epidemiological studies aiming to evaluate the health effects of green space in urban settings. However, it is not clear the relationship between built environment characteristics, including green space, and NDVI. We aimed to evaluate the relationship between built environment characteristics, based on land-use and land-cover maps, and NDVI as a marker of surrounding greenness in the city of Barcelona. We used data from an already existing cohort of pregnant women in Barcelona (N = 8402). NDVI was derived and averaged within buffers of 100 m and 300 m for each participant, and categories of the built environment (m²) were derived from land-use and land-cover maps of Barcelona. We conducted ANOVA models to calculate the contribution (R²) of each land-use (or land-cover) category. The variability in NDVI in Barcelona was mainly explained by urban green (R² between 0.32 and 0.53) and natural green areas (R² between 0.19 and 0.52), although for the latter less than 4% of the participants were exposed to this. Both land-use and land-cover maps explained NDVI at 300 m better (full models explaining 76% and 78%, respectively) than at 100 m buffers (full models explaining 55% and 54%, respectively). Results of the present study indicate that NDVI can be a useful greenness metric depending on the hypothesis and area of study. However, for certain sizes of study areas (buffers smaller than 100 m), NDVI might have a lower predictive value. Results of the present study should be replicated in studies from other cities with different urban characteristics and climate conditions.     

The influence of NaCl salinity on growth,yield and fruit quality of strawberry cvs. ‘Elsanta’ and ‘Korona’

In a 2-year field study, strawberry cvs. ‘Elsanta’ and ‘Korona’ were exposed to three different levels of NaCl salinity supplied as aqueous solutions characterised by electrical conductivities of 0.3 dS/m, 2.6 dS/m, and 5.1 dS/m. Salinity in the rhizosphere reduced plant growth by up to 44% in ‘Korona’ and 90% in ‘Elsanta’. A rather distinct cultivar difference represented the reduction in leaf area per plant of 85% in the second year of experiment in ‘Elsanta’ compared to 29% in ‘Korona’. Strawberry can be regarded as a Na⁺ excluder, because Na⁺ content of both strawberry cultivars remained below 3 mg g⁻¹ dry mass at all salinity levels. Cl⁻ content increased considerably, up to 70 mg g⁻¹ dry mass in ‘Korona’ and 80 mg g⁻¹ dry mass in ‘Elsanta’ plants. ‘Korona’ retained most of its Cl⁻ in roots and crowns, whereas in ‘Elsanta’ the maximum was detected in petioles. ‘Korona’ was able to accumulate up to 33% higher Cl⁻ content in the roots than ‘Elsanta’. Macronutrient deficiency due to NaCl salinity was not observed and in comparison to ‘Elsanta’, higher Cl⁻ content in roots of ‘Korona’ did not coincide with an impairment of macronutrient uptake. Salinity stress reduced fruit yield by up to 27% in ‘Korona’ and 64% in ‘Elsanta’. Fruit quality, characterised as taste, aroma, and texture by a consumer-type panel, decreased by more than 24% in ‘Elsanta’, but in ‘Korona’ differences were insignificant. Total soluble solids (Brix) and the ratio Brix/TA (TA, titratable acid) decreased significantly by about 20% in ‘Korona’ and 35% in ‘Elsanta’. To summarise, the ability of ‘Korona’ to retain Cl⁻ in the root system more effectively than ‘Elsanta’ resulted not only in a 41% lower leaf Cl⁻ content at the highest salinity level and a better growth under NaCl stress, but also in a relatively higher fruit yield and fruit quality.     

Stress recovery in forest or handicraft environments – An intervention study

In modern society stress is a major problem, causing lack of mental and social well-being as well as potential vulnerability to problems at work. Previous studies have found natural environments to be relaxing. In this intervention study, performed in Northern Sweden, the hypothesis was that an outdoor forest environment would be more relaxing than an indoor handicraft environment. Forty-six participants with high stress levels (PSQ ≥ 0.4) (33 women, 13 men, average age 48 years) were randomly assigned to visit either the forest environment (n = 27) or the handicraft environment (n = 19). The participants visited their assigned environment twice a week during three months, either in autumn or spring. During each visit they spent two hours performing, simple and undemanding activities. Psychological health outcomes were measured by the questionnaires CIS, PSQ, SCQ, SMBQ, SF-36 before and after the three months interventions. Sleeping patterns were monitored by an Actiwatch and sleep diary. The participants’ mood before and after each visit were estimated by a questionnaire. The results show that the participants’ health had improved after the interventions in both the forest and handicraft environments. The sleep latency increased slightly among participants in the handicraft environment. For participants in both environments the levels of fatigue, stress and burnout were all lower. They felt less limitation due to physical problems and did not feel so tired. Also their mental health had improved. From start to end of a visit to either environments the participants’ mood was improved, and they felt more relaxed, alert, happy, harmonious, peaceful and clearheaded. Over time during the intervention, they also felt significantly more clearheaded. We conclude that the health of all participants improved, irrespective of the environment visited.     

Quantifying green cover change for sustainable urban planning: A case of Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia

Despite the numerous benefits of urban green cover, urban land development has led to its destruction and degradation, including in Malaysia. In this study, time series Landsat satellite imagery were used to monitor green cover changes in Kuala Lumpur (KL), the largest and capital city of Malaysia. An advanced satellite image processing technique that considers the mixed-pixel problem was employed to determine the fraction of green cover in each Landsat pixel. Results show that the total green coverage in Kuala Lumpur decreased by 3% over the first study period, from 6564 ha in 2001–5,891 ha in 2013. However, it increased by 4% in the second, from 6215 ha in 2014–7,310 ha in 2016, and now green cover is 30% of the total land area of KL. These periods were selected to observe the changes in green cover before and after implementation of the “Greening KL” program, which was aimed to plant 100,000 trees in KL by year 2020. Most of the increase in green cover was contributed by trees planted along streets and in recreational parks. Other findings include a loss of ∼9% of green cover in two public parks compared to their total gazetted area, and a loss of green area in other forested parts of KL. Focus group discussions and structured interviews with public, private and non-governmental organizations indicate that green-cover losses can be partly attributed to weak regulations and their poor enforcement. Opportunities to protect and increase green cover in KL are also explored in this study. Such approaches are urgently needed before most of the green areas disappear from the landscape of KL, exacerbating the existing environmental problems in the city.     

Video evaluation of ethylene sensitivity after anthesis in carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus L.) flowers

Differences in ethylene sensitivity among carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus L.) cultivars were evaluated using a time-lapse video recording system. Measurement of time to petal inrolling of ‘White Sim’, ‘Nora’, ‘Chinera’, and line 64-54 flowers subjected to a range of 1–20 μl l⁻¹ ethylene showed that 10 μl l⁻¹ was the optimum concentration for sensitivity evaluation with our video system. With this system we found clear differences in ethylene sensitivity among 10 cultivars and one line. ‘Candy’, ‘Pallas’, ‘Chinera’, and line 64-54 had lower ethylene sensitivities than the other seven cultivars. Line 64-54 had the longest ethylene response time (20.6 h to start of petal inrolling). Video monitoring is a simple and accurate way of evaluating ethylene sensitivity. We have also used the system to study changes in the ethylene sensitivity of carnation flowers after anthesis. We were able to detect a shift in responsiveness to ethylene that was impossible to detect by previous methods. In the Sim-type carnation cultivars tested (‘White Sim’, ‘Scania’, ‘U Conn Sim’, and ‘Nora’), ethylene sensitivity after anthesis decreased significantly with age in both early-cut and late-cut flowers. These results clearly showed that decline of ethylene sensitivity is caused by the increasing physiological age of flowers. Ethylene sensitivity after anthesis decreased with age in normal Sim-type carnations in the same way as in long-vase-life variants such as ‘Sandrosa’.     

Performance of geophytes on extensive green roofs in the United Kingdom

Dwarf geophytes have great potential for use on extensive green roofs because they often come from arid areas and can survive dry and hot summer in a dormant state. However, there has been little research regarding geophytes on green roofs. This experiment was conducted to study the performance of 26 species of geophytes on a green roof during 2005–2006 in Sheffield, UK. The geophytes were grown at two substrate depths (5 cm and 10 cm) of substrate on a green roof without irrigation. To investigate the susceptibility of geophytes to competition from a covering of permanent plants, the geophytes were grown with or without a surface vegetation layer of Sedum album. Overall, the growth, survival rate, regeneration and flowering of geophytes were more successful at a substrate depth of 10 cm than of 5 cm, probably because of improved moisture retention, fewer temperature fluctuations and the protection from digging by animals. The flowering period was limited to spring, therefore, it is recommended to combine with other plant species such as covering plants. Geophyte species did not compete much with S. album and Sedum cover had no significant effects on the growth, survival rate, regeneration and flowering of geophytes in most species. Iris bucharica, Muscari azureum, Tulipa clusiana var. chrysantha, Tulipa humilis, Tulipa tarda and Tulipa turkestanica had good performance at the substrate depth of 5 cm. In addition, Narcissus cyclamineus ‘February gold’ and Tulipa urumiensis exhibited a successful performance at the substrate depth of 10 cm.     

Restorative potential,fascination, and extent for designed digital landscape models

Few studies have investigated whether manipulating objective measures related to fascination and extent affect respondents’ ratings of restorative potential (RP) and estimations of fascination and extent. The following study addresses this need. We manipulated or measured variables in 27 color digital landscape model views. Tree height represented a measure of fascination. Three measures related to extent: The number of organized plant groups represented coherence. Shannon’s Information Entropy bit values represented plant species complexity. The visible view polygon area in each model represented scope. We included 65 respondents’ RP ratings for the digital model views in analyses, along with estimations of fascination (n = 48), extent (n = 43), coherence (n = 38), complexity (n = 44), and scope (n = 35). Collinearity diagnostics indicated dependency between respondents’ estimations of fascination, extent, and complexity, and between estimations of coherence and scope. A strong, inverse correlation occurred between respondents’ RP ratings and the view polygon area. Repeated measures ANOVA test results suggest that respondents’ RP ratings increased as mean designed tree height increased. RP ratings for model views depicting scattered and formally arranged plants were significantly higher than views of clustered plants. Moreover, the decrease in RP ratings between scattered and clustered scenes was greater when plants represented three bits of entropy instead of two. Chief among the implications stemming from this study is that increasingly taller trees and groundcover plants may have increasingly greater restorative potential.     

Citizens’ perception of and satisfaction with urban forests and green space: Results from selected Southeast European cities

In this paper the results of the first comprehensive study on perception of and satisfaction with urban forests and green space in seven Southeast European cities are presented. The aims of the paper are to analyse 1) citizen perceptions of the current state of urban forests and green space in their cities, 2) to what extent current urban forests and green space meet their needs and how this can be improved. A cross-sectional study was conducted by using a common face-to-face survey questionnaire. Respondents were selected based on census data though a stratified sampling procedure by taking into account age, gender and city district (n = 384 in each city). The results showed that citizens genuinely care for urban forests and green space in their cities, but are not satisfied with their current state. The respondents found issues related to misbehaviour of other users, the presence and quality of facilities, as well as the presence and quality of management or maintenance the most pressing. There were more statistically significant differences than similarities between cities. Socioeconomic variables explained perceptions only to some extent. Citizens were very supportive of educational campaigns about the importance of urban forests and green space as well as of better enforcement of the existing regulations though having more community wardens that were expected to tackle current unsatisfactory situations. Urban planning and urban forest and green space management in these cities are facing many problems characteristic for post-socialist countries. Study findings are expected to contribute to decision making in urban planning and natural resource management.