Tracing regime influence on urban community gardening: How resource dependence causes barriers to garden longer term sustainability

This article explores how resource dependence leads to barriers to urban community gardening. Nine barriers to urban gardening were identified: finance, space, organizational structure, water, external damage, soil, communication, interpersonal issues, and participation issues. Using process tracing and grounded theory, we found that these barriers could be divided into three groups: primary, secondary, and participation barriers. Primary barriers are caused and directly influenced by the regime, whereas secondary barriers are the result of decisions and actions taken while addressing the primary barriers. All of these barriers cause frustration and affects the ability of the gardens to retain and acquire new members. This affects the longer term sustainability of the gardens and their potential to contribute to an urban governance transition.     

Assessing the utility of topographic variables in predicting structural complexity of tree stands in a reforested urban landscape

The transformation of natural landscapes into impervious built-up surfaces through urbanization is known to significantly interfere with the ecological integrity of urban landscapes and accelerate climate change and associated impacts. Although urban reforestation is widely recognised as an ideal mitigation practice against these impacts, it often has to compete with other lucrative land uses within an urban area. The often limited urban space provided for reforestation therefore necessitates the optimization of the ecological benefits, which demands spatially explicit information. The recent proliferation of tree stands structural complexity (SSC) and topographic data offer great potential for determining the ecological performance of reforested areas across an urban landscape. This study explores the potential of using topographic datasets to predict SSC in a reforested urban landscape and ranks the value of these topographic variables in determining SSC. Tree structural data from a reforested urban area was collected and fed into a tree stand structural complexity index, which was used to indicate ecological performance. Topographic variables (Topographic Wetness Index, slope, Area Solar Radiation and elevation)- were derived from a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and used to predict SSC using the Partial Least Squares (PLS) regression technique. Results show that SSC varied significantly between the topographic variables. Results also show that the topographic variables could be used to reliably predict SSC. As expected, the Topographic Wetness Index and slope were the most important topographic determinants of SSC while elevation was the least valuable. These results provide valuable spatially explicit information about the ecological performance of the reforested areas within an urban landscape. Specifically, the study demonstrates the value of topographic data as aids to urban reforestation planning.     

Training Mode of Applied Talents in Urban and Rural Planning Major

Facing the development and change of contemporary urban and rural planning discipline and social talent demand,it is imperative to develop the talent training of urban and rural planning major.Based on the teaching platform,this study constructed a perfect talent training mode,implemented modular teaching,took the occupation as the guidance,carried out the application-oriented talent training,and delivered high-quality professionals to the society.     

Can trail spatial attributes predict trail use level in urban forest park? An examination integrating GPS data and space syntax theory

Understanding users’ spatial distribution in forest park is crucial for providing visitors with quality recreation experiences and for park planning and management. Utilizing users’ spatial distribution data, this study aims at investigating associations between trail use level and trail spatial attributes, through examining two large urban forest parks (Gongqing forest park and Paotaiwan forest park) in Shanghai, China. Users’ spatial distribution was measured utilizing GPS trackers with the interval of 10 seconds. This study conceptualizes trail spatial attributes as trail metric attributes and trail configurational attributes. Trail metric attributes include trail mean distance to gates, length, width and level of enclosure, which are calculated based on park map and on-site observation. We computed trail configurational attributes utilizing space syntax theory, which comprise measures of global integration, control, and connectivity. Trail connection with features/facilities, visual connection with water and shading are included as covariate variables. In total, we obtained 134 valid samples in Gongqing forest park and 210 valid samples in Paotaiwan forest park for analysis. Multivariate regression analyses indicate that when involving covariate variables, consistently in both parks, a greater trail usage is significantly related to trail shorter mean distance to park gate, trail width wider than 3 meters, higher global integration and higher control values. Collectively, these four trail spatial attributes explained 31.7 % (p < 0.001) and 27.3 % (p < 0.001) of the variances in trail use level in Gongqing forest park and Paotaiwan forest park. These findings provide direct implications to park designers and managers for providing visitors with different desirable social conditions, and ultimately improve users’ experiences and satisfactions.     

From borders to ecotones – Private-public co-management of urban woodland edges bordering private housing

This paper conceptualises and evaluates so-called co-management zones as an approach for user participation in urban forestry, specifically in the management of public woodland edges bordering residential areas. Co-management zones can metaphorically be viewed as ‘ecotone-like’ spaces, i.e. zones where overlapping interest – in this case residents’ and municipal authorities’ – can be used to create richness and meetings rather than boundaries. Building on the perspectives of ecotone thinking and governance arrangements, co-management zones in the Danish residential area of Sletten in Holstebro were evaluated. The presented case study combined interviews with residents and interviews with three key green space professionals who had led the planning, design, establishment and management of the woodland and the implementation of co-management. The resident participation in the co-management zone was also assessed and photo documented in a field survey, categorising individual households according to type and degree of physical signs of participation. Findings illustrate the potential of co-management zones to initiate collaboration between residents and public woodland managers in creating recreationally valuable and varied meetings between private gardens and urban woodlands. Challenges with establishing co-management zones were also highlighted, especially the need for clear guidelines and continuous communication between residents and the municipality. Perspectives and implications related to residents, managers and green space quality are discussed.     

Exploring the characteristics of successful volunteer-led urban forest tree committees in Massachusetts

Citizen engagement through urban forest tree committee volunteer service may aid in providing essential experience, ideas, and skills that support municipal tree management. Using semi-structured, research interviews with tree committee (TC) representatives from across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, this study addresses current knowledge gaps concerning the general composition, processes, and relationships of volunteer-led urban forest tree committees. Our findings indicate that TC representatives are typically motivated, passionate volunteers who generally desire to work cooperatively with the many associations, organizations, and agencies that comprise the local socio-political landscape. Our findings also indicate it is important that TC representatives make a sustained, concerted effort to work collaboratively with their local tree warden to advance the care of their community’s urban trees. Furthermore, it is also essential that municipal managers and decision-makers attempt to provide TC volunteers with appropriate training opportunities, resources, as well as demonstrate appreciation, to further encourage and solidify volunteer-engagement in urban forestry at the local level.     

Modeling height-diameter relationship for artificial monoculture Metasequoia glyptostroboides in sub-tropic coastal megacity Shanghai,China

Tree height is a key variable in forest monitoring studies and for forest management. However, tree height measurement is time consuming, and the recommended procedure is to use estimates from tree height (H) - diameter at breast height (DBH) models. Increasingly, H-DBH models are being developed for urban forests, providing tools to forest management and ecosystem services estimation. Here, we compared model forms and approaches for predicting H as a function of DBH and additional stand level covariates variables. Four model forms were evaluated: (i) basic models (which only used DBH as predictor variable); (ii) generalized models (which used DBH and other predictor variables based on the best basic model); (iii) a mixed-effects model based on the best basic model; and (iv) a mixed-effects model based on the generalized model. Several sampling designs aimed at minimizing height measurement were tested in terms of accuracy and applicability. Taking predicted accuracy and investigation cost into account, we recommend generalized non-linear mixed-effects model (NLME) when there were two or less tree height measurements taken in a given stand. The basic NLME model could be calibrated when there were 3 or more tree height measurements, depending on the required level of accuracy and investigation cost. Additionally, we first reported that soil pH as a covariate variable in H-DBH model and our generalized NLME model implied that the difference in the H-DBH relationship caused by pH varies among different stands. This finding may be attributable to differing biological properties of the similar alkaline tolerance species.     

The economic benefits and costs of trees in urban forest stewardship: A systematic review

Understanding the benefits provided by urban trees is important to justify investment and improve stewardship. Many studies have attempted to quantify the benefits of trees in monetary terms, though fewer have quantified the associated costs of planting and maintaining them. This systematic review examines the methods used to jointly analyse the costs and benefits of trees in the urban landscape, assesses the relative balance of benefits and costs, and attempts to understand the wide variation in economic values assigned in different studies. The benefits most frequently studied are those related to environmental regulation and property values, and the available data show that these usually outweigh the costs. Aesthetic, amenity, and shading benefits have also been shown to provide significant economic benefits, while benefits in terms of water regulation, carbon reduction and air quality are usually more modest. Variation in benefits and costs among studies is attributed largely to differences in the species composition and age structure of urban tree populations, though methodological differences also play a role. Comparison between studies is made difficult owing to differences in spatiotemporal scope, and in the way urban forest composition and demographic structure were reported. The overwhelming majority of studies concern deciduous trees in Northern America, and much less is known about urban forests in other regions, especially in the tropics. Future work should thus seek to fill these knowledge gaps, and standardise research protocols across cities. In light of ambitious goals in many cities to increase tree cover, ongoing advances in valuation methods need to provide a more comprehensive accounting of benefits and costs, and to better integrate economic assessment into the decision-making process.     

Sacred sites as habitats of culturally important plant species in an Indian megacity

Cultural ecosystem services related to urban green spaces contribute significantly to liveable cities. While previous studies highlight the intersection of cultural ecosystem services with societal values, spiritual or religious values associated with urban nature have received less attention. In India, as in other parts of the world, sacred sites are known for their biological richness, but analyses from urban sacred sites are largely missing. Based on a stratified random sampling approach, we analysed the cultivated and wild plant species assemblages of 69 sacred sites in the megacity of Bengaluru, India, in relation to biological and cultural features, and parameters related to the urban matrix and type of sacred sites (temple vs. katte). Unlike other urban studies, we found a dominance of native species in the cultivated and spontaneous species pools (121 species in total), with Ficus religiosa and Azadirachta indica as most frequently planted species. Culturally relevant species prevailed in the species pool (89%), with overlaps between religious (36%), medicinal (50%) and ornamental (62%) plants; only 11% of species were weeds. Urban matrix parameters (age of development, housing density) and size and type of sacred sites were related to differences in species assemblages. We identified key species for different classes of age and housing density, and for types of sacred sites. Our study demonstrates that urban sacred sites have an important potential in harbouring both native and culturally significant species that can support urban livelihoods in developing countries by a range of cultural and provisioning ecosystem services, including medicinal uses. As such sites are conserved by communities for spiritual or cultural beliefs, local biodiversity can be enhanced, e.g. by adapting management practices through community participation. This would strengthen the important contribution of sacred sites within the green infrastructure of rapidly growing megacities.