Reviewing eight years of Urban Forestry & Urban Greening: Taking stock, looking ahead

Since its launch in 2002, the journal Urban Forestry & Urban Greening (UFUG) has welcomed research from a range of disciplines and perspectives, with the aim of enlarging the body of knowledge on topics related to use, planning, design, values, and establishment of urban and peri-urban woody and non-woody vegetation. Here, we present a review of all scientific contributions published in the journal's first eight volumes (159 in all), and provide suggestions for improving the future content of UFUG. A framework for review was developed based on the journal's Aims and Scope, which set out the journal's ambitions related to, e.g. scientific diversity and international scope. The journal's achievements until now were assessed by analysing all scientific contributions for type of paper, type of green space, research theme, type of science, research method(s), and nationality of first author.Our review shows that the large majority of the contributions have been research papers. Regarding type of green space studied or considered, the overall green structure, woodland, as well as trees have been well covered, with parks having been studied much less. When looking at research themes, UFUG's envisaged variety of topics is evident. The physicality of green space, green space management, and the experience of green space have been given most attention, with less attention for valuation and governance aspects. Most UFUG contributions have been rooted in the social or natural sciences, with about one fifth of all papers involving more than one discipline, and the humanities being almost absent. Scientific diversity can also be seen from the wide range of research methods applied. The journal lives up to its international scope, with a large number of countries present. However, most first authors have been based in Europe and North America, with the USA and Scandinavia being particularly dominant.For the further development of the fields of urban forestry and urban greening, it is important that UFUG helps foster scientific debate and advancement. This will require greater focus on review papers, meta-studies, short communications, and on theoretical and methodological issues in general. Thematically, several relevant topics within urban forestry and urban greening, such as organisational aspects of green space management, could be given more attention. Also, normative issues such as the common understanding of ‘green’ as something inherently ‘good’ need to be addressed more critically.     

Urban tree growth and their dependency on infiltration rates in structural soil and structural cells

Expanding tree canopies can be difficult to achieve in built environments because urban land is costly and urban soil inhospitable to vegetation so engineered planting systems offer a potentially valuable tool for achieving sustainable urban forests. Tree water uptake, performance and root distribution were assessed in systems of structural soil and structural cell. Structural soil relies on stone and soil, it is highly porous and designed to support tree root growth and possess pavement strength. The structural cell is made up of rigid structural units with 90% void space which is to be filled with soil. To evaluate tree performance under the conditions of fill and drain regimes in structural soil and structural cell, these two systems were subjected to three simulated infiltration rates. This study was conducted in April 2015 to April 2016 in the tropical equatorial environment of South East Asia. Infiltration rate affected both biomass accumulation and rooting depth. Species and substrate effect was significant for biomass and rooting characteristics but less prominent for transpiration. Biomass was greater for trees in structural cells, and Pouteria obovata was particularly sensitive to prolonged inundation. Rooting depth was always higher in the rapid infiltration indicating the negative effects inundation had on this parameter. Root system in the structural cell was deeper while those in the structural soil were wider. Samanea saman had better adapted to the drain and fill regimes, and this was despite Pouteria obovata being a coastal species and was expected to be flood tolerant. Species and substrate effect was weak (R² ranging from 0.20 to 0.28) but moderate drainage consistently led to higher transpiration. We conclude that structural soil and structural cell are potential solutions and provide a tool to overcome suboptimal urban growing conditions. The application of these solutions will allow for seamless integration of greenery with urban infrastructure.     

Urban density does not impact tree growth and canopy cover in native species in Melbourne,Australia

Trees provide multiple ecosystem services in urban centers and increases in tree canopy cover is a key strategy for many municipalities. However, urban trees also experience multiple stresses and tree growth can be impacted by urban density and impervious surfaces. We investigated the impact of differences in urban form on tree growth in the City of Merri-bek, a local government area in metropolitan Melbourne, which is the temperate climate zone. Merri-bek has a gradient in population density and urban greenness from north to south, and we hypothesized that tree growth in the southern areas would be lower because trees were more likely to have less access to water with high levels of impervious surfaces. We selected three common native evergreen species, Eucalyptus leucoxylon, Melaleuca linariifolia, and Lophostemon confertus that exhibit differences in climate vulnerability and assessed the tree canopy expansion in four urban density zones in Merri-bek between 2009 and 2020 using aerial image analysis. The differences in urban form did not significantly influence tree canopy growth and all species showed similar canopy expansion rates. However, smaller trees showed a greater relative canopy increase in the ten years, whereas larger trees had a greater absolute canopy growth. Thus, older and larger trees should be protected and maintained to achieve the canopy expansion. Our study indicated that differences in urban form are unlikely to have major impacts on the growth and canopy expansion of well adapted native tree species in open, suburban centers.     

Urban greenspace access,uses, and values: A case study of user perceptions in metropolitan ravine parks

Urban greenspaces provide critical ecosystem services to urban area residents. While urban greenspaces provide a range of ecosystem services, cultural ecosystem services may be the most prominent to residents. Cultural ecosystem services provide benefits through educational, recreational, social, and spiritual opportunities. More knowledge is required about greenspace users’ perspectives of their local greenspaces, which will enrich park planners’ knowledge of the preferences, concerns, and potential points of conflict that greenspace users experience. To help increase this knowledge, we conducted a survey with closed and open-ended questions and supported it with a park audit and photographic evidence. As a case study, data were collected in six ravine parks in the City of Toronto, Canada. Ravine parks were of particular interest as they are a unique form of socio-ecological greenspace that have varied management goals which on occasion may differ from some user preferences and values. Quantitative data were analyzed with analysis of variance and chi-square tests of independence, and qualitative data were analyzed with conventional qualitative content analysis. Our results highlight that current ravine park users vary widely in their characteristics and the values they pursue through their park access. While the range of ravine park types accommodates some of this variability, there is also conflict between ravine park users with different values and expectations. We are offering a series of recommendations addressing these findings and hope that insights from this deep and rich case study will be of use to other forested, urban greenspaces under similar conditions.     

Effects of land ownership and landscape-level factors on rare-species richness in natural areas of southern Ontario,Canada

Surprisingly few studies have considered the extent to which the nature of the ownership of land is associated with differences in biodiversity. We analysed ownership and other landscape-level effects on rare-species richness for both globally- and regionally-rare biota (including birds, herpetofauna, butterflies, mammals, and plants) in 289 designated natural areas (NAs) in southern Ontario, Canada. Information about each NA −including area, number of plant communities, ownership status and details of species diversity were collected from published sources. Length of perimeter of NA, relative isolation, and an estimate of fragmentation were measured using image analysis and GIS techniques. NAs were in general relatively small, with mean area of 158 ha (median 85 ha, range from 0.9 to 1278 ha) for private NAs; public NAs had mean area of 132 ha (median 16 ha, range from 0.1 to 1481 ha). Mean number of plant communities was 4.6 (median 4, range 1- 13) at private NAs and 3.8 (median 3, range 1-16) at public NAs. Our results show that, of several landscape-level factors, area had the greatest effects on rare-species richness and other biotic indices. Effects of area were followed by effects of plant community diversity, however this was itself significantly affected by area and the extent of perimeter of the NA. Both these factors were followed by effects of ownership of the NA and by effects of isolation of the NA (represented by minimum distance to nearest NA and by number of NAs in 10 km radius). Other landscape- level factors did not appear to have overall significant effects. Variation in area accounted for 0.1% to 29% of variation in number of rare species, with lower values for globally-rare, than for regionally-rare taxa. For all biotic groups, public ownership of NAs was associated with significantly greater rare-species richness compared to private ownership, even after other factors such as area were controlled. For all globally-rare biota except butterflies, area of NA had greater effects on rare-species richness than did ownership. Richness of regionally- rare birds was more affected by plant community diversity than by area of NA. Number of recorded plant communities accounted from 2.1% of variation in number of globally-rare plant species to as high as 31% of variation in regionally-rare butterflies. The diversity of plant communities was itself influenced by total site area (accounting for 45% of variation), extent of elongation of the NA, and both external- and interior- edge perimeters. Public NAs had greatest numbers of rare biota and so should be a significant focus for conservation programs. Smaller, privately-owned patches of natural area dominate (by number and area) in this densely populated region and their significance should not be overlooked. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Soundscapes of urban parks: An innovative approach for ecosystem monitoring and adaptive management

Urban foresters are addressing the challenge of urban biodiversity loss through management plans in the context of rapid urbanization. Protecting the integrity of the urban ecosystem requires long-term monitoring and planning for resilience as well as effective management. The soundscape assessment has attracted attention in this field, but applying the soundscape assessment in urban ecological monitoring requires a protocol that links soundscapes to the impact of resource management on biodiversity over time. The effective processing and visualization of large-scale data also remains an important challenge. The aim of this study was to better understand the relationship between soundscape and physical environment, and examine the feasibility of this innovative soundscape approach in highly urbanized areas. Soundscape recordings were collected for 20 urban parks twice on 4 consecutive days in Spring. A total of 691,200 min of sound material were automatically obtained. In order to track the spatio-temporal patterns of a soundscape and determine its potential suitability for ecosystem monitoring, our study characterized soundscape information by adopting 4 widely used acoustic indices: acoustic diversity index (ADI), bioacoustic index (BIO), normalized difference vegetation index (NDSI), and power spectral density (PSD). Daily patterns of PSD have provided a potential connection between soundscapes and bird songs, and 1–2 kHz presented a similar pattern that was linked to human activity. Through further modeling, we tested the relationship of soundscapes to physical environment characteristics. The results showed the importance of habitat vegetation structure for acoustic diversity. More vertical heterogeneity, with an uneven canopy height or multilayered vegetation, was associated with more acoustic diversity. This suggests that clearing ground cover may have a significant negative impact on wildlife. Our results suggest that soundscape approaches provide a way to quickly synthesize large-scale recording data into meaningful patterns that can track changes in bird songs and ecosystem conditions. The proposed approach would enable regular assessment of urban parks and forests to inform adaptive planning and management strategies that can maintain or enhance biodiversity.     

Urban forest management and governance in Latin America and the Caribbean: A baseline study of stakeholder views

Cities in the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region and around the world are setting long-term greening goals that include planting more trees and increasing green cover. Research in LAC cities has mainly focused on biodiversity and vegetation, with little understanding of the mechanisms underlying the decisions through which stakeholders achieve urban greening. Exploring stakeholders’ views about urban forest management and governance can provide us with an opportunity to identify needs and research gaps for urban greening and urban forestry in LAC. To our knowledge, there has never been a region-wide empirical study to capture these stakeholder views. Here we explore how stakeholders working in urban forestry in LAC, including governmental, and non-governmental professionals, define urban forests, and view management and governance issues as well as educational opportunities. We used an online survey based on a combination of open- and closed-ended questions. The survey was delivered to participants at the first two regional conferences on urban forests in LAC organized by the United Nations. We collected 91 responses from stakeholders working in 50 different cities of varying population sizes across 6 LAC bioregions. Most respondents considered parks, planted green corridors, street trees, and remnant forests in urban and peri-urban areas as components of urban forests. Stakeholder views on management and governance were divided in two distinct perspectives, one dominated by public participation issues, and another one related to operational issues. Most respondents considered operational and management tools for urban forests to exist in LAC cities, but they disagreed on the existence of inventories, long-term strategies, and ways for the public to engage in urban forestry. Responses also revealed that some educational opportunities, such as arboricultural certification, are still relatively scarce and in high demand in the region. This study provides a regional baseline and first insights into a more diverse view of urban forestry which could be enriched with more empirical studies in the future.     

Urban wild food foraging locations: Understanding selection criteria to inform green space planning and management

Urban wild food foraging is increasingly attracting attention as an activity in urban green spaces that encourages urban residents’ interaction with their natural environment. However, little is known about the criteria influencing urban foragers’ selection of foraging locations that could inform urban green space management and planning to encourage urban foraging. To elicit these criteria, we conducted 21 semi-structured expert interviews with urban foraging stakeholders in Vienna, Austria, and analysed the data using qualitative content analysis. The respondents suggested 11 criteria that influence the selection of foraging locations. These are related to spatial factors, management of public urban green spaces and the green space activities of other visitors. However, the respondents reported that urban foragers do not uniformly follow these different criteria, but subjectively assess and apply them depending on the specific locations and the plant materials and mushroom species being targeted. For some foragers, even intensively managed public urban green spaces can offer certain advantages. Thus, urban residents forage in public urban green spaces that have diverse properties and management strategies. We suggest that urban foraging is best supported by biodiversity- and wilderness-friendly green space management that supports access to foraging locations, clear foraging regulations and codes of conduct, and comprehensive information about contamination for urban residents. Implementation of these suggestions would not only benefit urban foraging, but also enhance urban biodiversity and guarantee the multifunctional benefits of public urban green spaces for urban residents and urban nature.     

Future climate risk and urban tree inventories in Australian cities: Pitfalls,possibilities and practical considerations

Urban tree inventories are useful tools to assess the environmental and socio-economic services provided by urban forests. These inventories enable the evaluation of the climate change risk to urban forests, and governments rely on such inventories for urban planning and management. Here, we assessed the future climate risk of Australia and the state of urban tree inventories across 116 local government areas (LGAs), representing 21 % of the country’s LGAs and encompassing 55 % of the national human population. We evaluated projected changes in temperature and precipitation by 2050 for each LGA and conducted a survey to obtain information on the extent and types of data available in existing urban tree inventories. Additionally, we compiled demographic, socio-economic, and geographical data for all LGAs to explore correlates with tree inventory status. Temperature increases in 2050 were predicted in all LGAs, with higher latitude and smaller LGAs identified to undergo greater increases in temperature compared to larger and lower latitude LGAs. Decreases in seasonal precipitation were predicted for 97 LGAs. Seventy-six (66 %) of surveyed LGAs had urban tree inventories, which most commonly included trees along streets and in parks. Sixty-one LGAs record information on tree mortality, while 31 LGAs dynamically update their inventories. The presence of an inventory and the area it covered were positively associated with human population density. More than 30 years ago, in 1988, John Gray wrote that “insufficient statistics were available in Australia to provide an accurate picture of the urban forest estate”. Our research shows there has not been a significant advance in the adoption and use of urban forest inventories over the past three decades. Long-term, dynamically updated inventories are crucial for urban forest management to inform planting choices to support sustainable and resilient cities.     

Private residential urban forest structure and carbon storage in a moderate-sized urban area in the Midwest,United States

In conjunction with urbanization and its importance as a major driver of land-use change, increased efforts have been placed on understanding urban forests and the provisioning of ecosystem services. However, very little research has been conducted on private property and little is known about the structure and function of privately owned urban forests. This research examines the structure of and carbon storage services provided by private residential urban forests in a moderate-sized Midwestern city. The primary research questions are as follows: What is the structure of private urban forests, and how does it vary across parcels? How much carbon is stored in tree and soil pools of private urban forests, and how does carbon vary across parcels? Ecological inventories were conducted on 100 residential parcels within 14 Neighborhood and Homeowners Associations of varying size and development age. Tree species richness, diversity, density, and diameter distribution were determined on a per parcel basis and for the entire tree population sampled. Further, tree and soil carbon storage were determined for each parcel. Results of this research demonstrated large variability in per-parcel tree metrics. Twelve of the parcels sampled had two or fewer trees, while eleven had greater than 50 trees. Further, tree carbon storage ranged from no carbon to 11.22 kg C m^?2. Alternatively, soil carbon storage was less variable and averaged 4.7 kg C m^?2, approximately 1.9 times higher than the average carbon stored in trees (2.5 kg C m^?2). Management efforts aimed at maintaining or enhancing carbon storage and other ecosystem services should focus on both soil protection and maximizing services in living biomass. Our results demonstrate that sustaining tree-produced ecosystem services requires maintenance of large old trees and species diversity, not only in terms of relative abundance, but also relative dominance, and in combination, species–specific size distributions.     

Urban fruit orchards: Biodiversity and management restoration effects in the context of land use

Urban areas have increased greatly in recent decades, which has resulted in habitat loss. However, the promotion of urban green spaces could have a profound effect on biodiversity. Traditional fruit orchards are an important land-use type with the potential to host myriad organisms. Our goal was to determine the most important factors that influence orchard biodiversity in the million city of Prague (the capital of the Czech Republic). We used a multitaxon approach to evaluate the effect of orchard restoration in a landscape context. Restoration had a positive impact on species diversity, specifically, the diversity of orthopterans and butterflies. Moreover, landscape context determined the biodiversity of orthopterans, butterflies, and birds but not that of lichens. Our study underlines the importance of both the internal and external structures of traditional fruit orchards for species richness and composition. The results of our study support the restoration of traditional fruit orchards as a suitable management practice for promoting city biodiversity. Furthermore, orchard restoration can improve the attractiveness of suburban areas. Such areas often lack sufficient urban greening. Thus, restoration in these areas can also increase future recreational value.     

Survival is not enough: The effects of microclimate on the growth and health of three common urban tree species in San Francisco,California

Urban forest managers must balance social, economic, and ecological goals through tree species selection and planting location. Ornamental trees are often popular in tree planting programs for their aesthetic benefits, but studies find that they have lower survivability and growth compared to larger shade trees. To maximize ecosystem services within these aesthetic preferences, it is important to select species carefully based on their ability to grow in each particular climate. However, little locality-specific and species-specific data exist on urban trees in many regions. This study examines the growth, survival, and vigor of three common ornamental street trees in San Francisco’s three different microclimate zones after over 16 years since planting. While we found over 70% survival for all three species throughout the city, there were significant differences in health and vigor among microclimates for each species, likely due to differences in drought-tolerance. While Arbutus had the greatest proportion of healthy trees in the Fog Belt and Sun Belt zones, Prunus cerasifera had the greatest proportion in the Sun Belt, and Prunus serrulata had the greatest proportions in the Transition and the Sun Belt zones. This species-specific and climate-specific information will better equip urban foresters to target both planting and tree-care of these popular species appropriately to maximize the benefits provided by these street trees while still maintaining a diverse canopy. Finally, we argue that simple survival calculations can mask more complex differences in the health and ability of different urban tree species to provide ecosystem services.     

Adapting and applying evidence gathering techniques for planning and investment in street trees: A case study from Brisbane,Australia

Trees along footpath zones (or verges) grow on the “front-line” of urban forest ecosystems, increasingly recognised as essential to the quality of human life in cities. Growing so close to where residents live, work and travel, these street trees require careful planning and active management in order to balance their benefits against risks, liabilities, impacts and costs. Securing support and investment for urban trees is tough and robust business cases begin with accurate information about the resource. Few studies have accounted for spatial heterogeneity within a single land-use type in analyses of structure and composition of street tree populations. Remotely sensed footpath tree canopy cover data was used as a basis for stratification of random sampling across residential suburbs in the study area of Brisbane, Australia. Analysis of field survey data collected in 2010 from 80 representative sample sites in 52 suburbs revealed street tree population (432,445 ± 26,293) and stocking level (78%) estimates with low (6.08%) sampling error. Results also suggest that this population was transitioning to low risk, small-medium sized species with unproven longevity that could limit the capacity of the Brisbane’s Neighbourhood Shadeways planting program to expand from 35% footpath tree canopy cover in 2010, to a target of a 50% by 2031. This study advances the use of contemporary techniques for sampling extensive, unevenly distributed urban tree populations and the value of accurate resource knowledge to inform evidence-based planning and investment for urban forests.     

Cemeteries support avian diversity likewise urban parks in European cities: Assessing taxonomic,evolutionary and functional diversity

The aim of this study was to explore different components of avian diversity in two types of urban green areas, parks and cemeteries, in four European countries in relation to environmental characteristics. We studied bird species richness, functional diversity and evolutionary distinctiveness in 79 parks and 90 cemeteries located in four European countries: the Czech Republic, France, Italy and Poland.First, we found no significant differences between cemeteries and parks in bird diversity. However, in both parks and cemeteries, only: two community metrics were affected by different environmental characteristics, including local vegetation structure and presence of human-related structures. Species richness was positively correlated with tree coverage and site size, functional diversity was unrelated to any of the measured variables, while the mean evolutionary distinctiveness score was positively correlated with tree coverage and negatively associated with the coverage of flowerbeds and number of street lamps.Our findings can be useful for urban planning: by increasing tree coverage and site size it is possible to increase both taxonomic richness and evolutionary uniqueness of bird communities. In both parks and cemeteries, the potential association between light pollution and bird species richness was negligible. We also identified some thresholds where bird diversity was higher. Bird species richness was maximized in parks/cemeteries larger than 1.4 ha, with grass coverage lower than 65%. The evolutionary uniqueness of bird communities was higher in areas with tree coverage higher than 45%. In conclusion, the findings of this study provide evidence that cemeteries work similarly than urban parks supporting avian diversity.     

URban Biotopes of Aotearoa New Zealand (URBANZ) II: Floristics, biodiversity and conservation values of urban residential and public woodlands, Christchurch

Urban forests are increasingly valued for multiple benefits such as amenity, cultural values, native biodiversity, ecosystem services, and carbon sequestration. Urban biodiversity in particular, is the new focus although global homogenisation is undermining regional differentiation. In the northern hemisphere (e.g., Canada and USA) and in the southern hemisphere, particularly in countries like South Africa, Australia, South America and New Zealand, local biodiversity is further impacted by historical colonisation from Europe. After several centuries, urban forests are now composed of synthetic and spontaneous mixtures of native species, and exotic species from around the temperate world (e.g., Europe, North and South America, South Africa, Asia). As far as we are aware no-one has carried out in-depth study of these synthetic forests in any Southern Hemisphere city. Here we describe the composition, structure, and biodiversity conservation imperatives of urban temperate forests at 90 random locations in Christchurch city, New Zealand.We document considerable plant diversity; the total number of species encountered in the 253 sampled urban forest patches was 486. Despite this incredibly variable data set, our ability to explain variation in species richness was surprisingly good and clearly indicates that total species richness was higher in larger patches with greater litter and vegetation cover, and taller canopy height. Species richness was also higher in patches surrounded by higher population densities and closer to very large native forest patches. Native species richness was higher in patches with higher soil pH, lower canopy height, and greater litter cover and in patches closer to very large native forest patches indicating dispersal out of native areas and into gardens. Eight distinct forest communities were identified by Two-Way INdicator SPecies ANalysis (TWINSPAN) using the occurrence of 241 species that occurred in more than two out of all 253 forest patches.Christchurch urban forest canopies were dominated by exotic tree species in parklands and in street tree plantings (linear parkland). Native tree and shrub species were not as common in public spaces but their overall density high in residential gardens. There was some explanatory power in our data, since less deprivation resulted in greater diversity and density, and more native species, which in turn is associated with private ownership. We hypothesise that a number of other factors, which were not well reflected in our measured environmental variables, are responsible for much of the remaining variation in the plant community structure, e.g., advertising, peoples choice. For a more sustainable asset base of native trees in New Zealand cities we need more, longer-lived native species, in large public spaces, including a greater proportion of species that bear fruit and nectar suitable for native wildlife. We may then achieve cities with ecological integrity that present multiple historical dimensions, and sequester carbon in legible landscapes.     

Urban parks,value uplift and green gentrification: An application of the spatial hedonic model in the city of Brisbane

This paper explores the impact of urban parks on real estate prices making use of a hedonic price approach. Focusing on Brisbane, Australia, as a case study site, we use spatial hedonic models to analyse housing sales data across 15,000 sales transactions to investigate the effects of parks on nearby housing prices, paying attention to park typology and classification. Our findings indicate that recreational and sport parks are differently associated with price variations. The study also examines a specific and significant inner-city park currently undergoing a major redevelopment—namely Victoria Park. Our analysis of the Victoria Park site seeks to quantify the value uplift, that is, the future increase in property prices as a result of the transformation of the current private golf course in this location into a new publicly accessible parkland. This study’s property economics modelling analysis indicates the conversion of Victoria Park from a golf course to public parkland will increase property prices by an average of 3 % for properties located within 750 m of the park. The article concludes with a discussion of value capture opportunities that these findings present as well as challenges of green gentrification for this and similar urban renewal projects and possible policy responses.     

Bird populations in native forest patches in south-eastern Australia: the roles of patch width,matrix type (age) and matrix use

We surveyed birds in patches of native eucalypt forest and in surrounding exotic matrix (Radiata pine forests) in south-eastern Australia. Our objectives were: (1) to examine the influence of the width of native forest patches and the age of surrounding pine forests on bird occurrence in patches of native forest; and (2) to verify the relationship between the use of the surrounding pine matrix and bird species response to variation in width of patches of native forests. A total of 32 study sites (boundaries between eucalypt and pine forests) were surveyed. Birds were counted by the area search method within 0.5-ha quadrats. Data were analysed using generalised linear models. Wide patches of eucalypt forest supported higher species richness and greater numbers of birds, such as foliage searchers and nectarivores, than narrow patches. Matrix age also influenced the occurrence of some species in native patches. The abundance of species in wide and narrow patches of native forest was related to their use of the matrix. This was true for native forests surrounded by old but not by young pine forests. We suggest that management in wood production landscapes take into account both characteristics of native patches and the surrounding matrix. Negative impacts of fragmentation in managed landscapes might be reduced by promoting matrix types that are suitable for bird species.     

Urban park use and self-reported physical,mental, and social health during the COVID-19 pandemic: An on-site survey in Beijing,China

The COVID-19 pandemic created unprecedented challenges for people’s health. Studies have demonstrated the positive impact of urban green spaces, particularly urban parks, on physical and mental health. However, few studies have evaluated social health, which is a component of human health, and more understanding of the relationship between urban parks and human health during the COVID-19 pandemic is required. This study examined the effects of urban parks on people’s health using a canonical correlation model. Physical, mental, and social health were the dependent health variables, and five factors related to urban parks were the independent variables. This study investigated 22 urban parks inside the Forth Ring Road in Beijing, China using a questionnaire survey. The results demonstrated a positive association between urban parks and human health during the pandemic. Distance to the parks, park area, and park size were positively correlated with physical, mental, and social health. Furthermore, frequency and duration of visits to urban parks were positively associated with mental health and contact with neighbors. The health effects of urban park use varied with park types and locations’ urbanization background. These findings can provide insights for health-oriented urban park planning and construction.