Combining the conservation of biodiversity with the provision of ecosystem services in urban green infrastructure planning. Critical features arising from a case study in the metropolitan area of Rome

A large number of green infrastructure (GI) projects have recently been proposed, planned and implemented in European cities following the adoption of the GI strategy by the EU Commission in 2013. Although this policy tool is closely related to biodiversity conservation targets, some doubts have arisen as regards the ability of current urban GI to provide beneficial effects not only for human societies but also for the ecological systems that host them. The aim of this work is to review the features that should be considered critical when searching for solutions that simultaneously support biodiversity and guarantee the provision of ecosystem services (ES) in urban areas. Starting from a case study in the metropolitan area of Rome, we highlight the role of urban trees and forests as proxies for overall biodiversity and as main ecosystem service providers. We look beyond the individual functional features of plant species and vegetation communities to promote the biogeographic representativity, ecological coherence and landscape connectivity of new or restored GI elements

Mapping and assessment of ecosystems and their services. Urban ecosystems

Action 5 of the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 requires member states to Map and Assess the state of Ecosystems and their Services (MAES). This report provides guidance for mapping and assessment of urban ecosystems. The MAES urban pilot is a collaboration between the European Commission, the European Environment Agency, volunteering Member States and cities, and stakeholders. Its ultimate goal is to deliver a knowledge base for policy and management of urban ecosystems by analysing urban green infrastructure, condition of urban ecosystems and ecosystem services. This report presents guidance for mapping urban ecosystems and includes an indicator framework to assess the condition of urban ecosystems and urban ecosystem services. The scientific framework of mapping and assessment is designed to support in particular urban planning policy and policy on green infrastructure at urban, metropolitan and regional scales. The results are based on the following different sources of information: a literature survey of 54 scientific articles, an online-survey (on urban ecosystems, related policies and planning instruments and with participation of 42 cities), ten case studies (Portugal: Cascais, Oeiras, Lisbon; Italy: Padua, Trento, Rome; The Netherlands: Utrecht; Poland: Poznań; Spain: Barcelona; Norway: Oslo), and a two-day expert workshop. The case studies constituted the core of the MAES urban pilot. They provided real examples and applications of how mapping and assessment can be organized to support policy; on top, they provided the necessary expertise to select a set of final indicators for condition and ecosystem services. Urban ecosystems or cities are defined here as socio-ecological systems which are composed of green infrastructure and built infrastructure. Urban green infrastructure (GI) is understood in this report as the multi-functional network of urban green spaces situated within the boundary of the urban ecosystem. Urban green spaces are the structural components of urban GI. This study has shown that there is a large scope for urban ecosystem assessments. Firstly, urban policies increasingly use urban green infrastructure and nature-based solutions in their planning process. Secondly, an increasing amount of data at multiple spatial scales is becoming available to support these policies, to provide a baseline, and to compare or benchmark cities with respect to the extent and management of the urban ecosystem. Concrete examples are given on how to delineate urban ecosystems, how to choose an appropriate spatial scale, and how to map urban ecosystems based on a combination of national or European datasets (including Urban Atlas) and locally collected information (e.g., location of trees). Also examples of typologies for urban green spaces are presented. This report presents an indicator framework which is composed of indicators to assess for urban ecosystem condition and for urban ecosystem services. These are the result of a rigorous selection process and ensure consistent mapping and assessment across Europe. The MAES urban pilot will continue with work on the interface between research and policy. The framework presented in this report needs to be tested and validated across Europe, e.g. on its applicability at city scale, on how far the methodology for measuring ecosystem condition and ecosystem service delivery in urban areas can be used to assess urban green infrastructure and nature-based solutions

A scenario-based approach to tackle trade-offs between biodiversity conservation and land use pressure in Central Italy

Land Use and Land Cover Changes (LULCC) are recognized among the main drivers affecting biodiversity and ecosystem services. Especially in areas with high biophysical and socioeconomic heterogeneity, the need to find optimal planning solutions to combine human and natural systems still remains an open issue. This study aims to investigate how different planning strategies affecting the spatial arrangement of LULCC can produce different impacts in terms of ecosystem conditions in the Lazio region, Central Italy. Starting from the same LULCC magnitude observed in the past through an inventory approach, three different future scenarios to 2030 were depicted by means of the InVEST tool Scenario Generator: the “Business as Usual” (BaU) and, alternatively, one avoiding changes within the “Natura 2000″ sites (N2K) and another within the regional most “Degraded Municipalities” (DM). The ecological impacts of these scenarios were then assessed using the InVEST Habitat Quality model, adopting Habitat Quality (HQ) as a proxy for biodiversity. In order to characterize LULCC impacts at multiple scales, the assessment was carried out both at the regional level and within distinct ecological units. Independently from the spatial arrangement of projected LULCC, HQ decreased under all three scenarios. Nonetheless, HQ values varied among scenarios, highlighting a strict relationship between the spatial arrangement and the ecological impact of LULCC. Compared to BaU, alternative scenarios, as well as their combination into a “Best Scenario”, reduced negative impacts on HQ. These results highlighted the weak sustainability of pursuing with past urban planning strategies, while allowed to foster innovative planning approaches to mitigate habitats loss and degradation. The proposed methodology was effective to localize the conservation priorities as well as ameliorating the reliability of planning strategies based on their ecological performance. Furthermore, it supports the resolution of planning conflicts between contrasting demands (e.g., urban expansion vs biodiversity conservation), thus enhancing simultaneous benefits for both nature and people

NATURAL VEGETATION AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICES RELATED TO AIR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT: TROPOSPHERIC OZONE REMOVAL BY EVERGREEN AND DECIDUOUS FORESTS IN LATIUM (ITALY)

The background concentrations of tropospheric ozone (O3) are increasing in both industrialized and developing countries, thus posing a concrete risk to human health, natural vegetation and crops. Several papers have reported that the total O3 flux from the atmosphere to canopy surfaces can have positive effects on air quality, and consequently to human health and wellbeing. In this work, we have estimated the role of the main natural woody vegetation classes of the CORINE Land cover Classification System in the Latium Region (Central Italy) in removing O3 during the growing season of the year 2005. Cumulated O3 fluxes data allowed to estimate the externality value of this ecosystem service provided by deciduous and evergreen forests in the Latium region to be around a total value of 85025821.&nbsp; In the Apennine chain Province, this value should be around 57248431 while  in the Tyrrhenian Borderland Province 2286567 , 22376136 $and 3114686$ for deciduous and evergreen forests, respectively. This corresponds, for the growing season 2005, to a total value of 85025821 $ attributable to the ecosystem service of tropospheric O3 removal provided by the natural forests of the Latium region. Although we acknowledge the uncertainty in producing such estimate, we think our effort&nbsp; as a useful first contribution addressed to the monetization of one of the ecosystem services of Italian forests at a regional level, and more in general, to open the discussion in a field that would be very useful in forest management and environmental policy-making.&nbsp; <br /

Exploring biodiversity in a metropolitan area in the Mediterranean region: The urban and suburban flora of Rome (Italy)

This work provides an overview of plant diversity in the municipality of Rome (Italy) through an assessment of the flora in urban and suburban sectors of the city. It is aimed at providing the knowledge required to support proactive action for plant conservation. On the basis of a literature-derived catalogue and of an extensive survey campaign, the flora was investigated in terms of conservation interest; habitat types and locations that require protection measures were identified according to the occurrence of valuable native plants. Valuable species exclusive of the urban sector are threatened by the compaction trend affecting the urban fabric. Such species occur mainly in ruderal environments and fallows of archaeological sites and urban parks, near river courses and in remnants of natural forests. Valuable species exclusive of the suburban sector are threatened by urban sprawl. They occur prevalently in wet environments of the subcoastal strip and in coastal sands, Mediterranean maquis, tuffaceous gorges, sulphur springs and archaeological sites. The results highlight the need to preserve the complexity of the land mosaic, especially within the urban matrix, and to strengthen the existing environmental protection tools in the suburban area against foreseeable land cover changes

The vascular flora of Rome

The aim of this paper is to document plant diversity in the metropolitan area of Rome (Italy) by providing a comprehensive inventory of the present-day vascular flora and an overview of its composition and species diversity. We compiled the floristic catalogue by including all vascular plant entities that occur spontaneously within the administrative boundaries of the Rome municipality. The data, which were gathered from extensive field surveys, from a broad review of the literature and from herbaria records, were updated and integrated in a comprehensive account. The inventory of the flora of metropolitan Rome lists 1649 entities, from 139 families and 677 genera. The flora contains 228 taxa that are non-native to the Italian flora, 81 of which are established in the study area. The overview of flora reveals a remarkable species diversity and outlines the main characteristics of the flora of Rome, which may be summarized as (1) a large number of taxa of high conservation value which occur in remnants of near-natural vegetation, (2) the loss or decline of some species, particularly of native freshwater plants, (3) a remarkably high native species richness within the urban area, which includes many native woody species and (4) a rich ruderal flora, prevalently composed of native species that are well adapted to human disturbance, along with a variety of taxa of non-native or uncertain origin. The large set of data and the overview presented in this paper represent a fundamental framework for future research and for the conservation of plant diversity in metropolitan Rome