Seasonality in recreation supply and demand in an urban lake ecosystem in Finland

Monetary valuation methods are commonly used to analyze recreation values of water ecosystems. However, most studies on water-related recreation values have not analyzed direct links between ecological elements providing recreation opportunities and user demands. Therefore, we implemented an ecosystem service approach to study human-nature interaction during the actual recreation visit to an urban freshwater site. We developed a conceptual model of local cultural ecosystem services (CES) to study interactions between recreation supply and demand. We were interested in seasonality of water-related recreation supply, and the different demands of summer and off-summer visitors. We chose urban Lake Kuusijärvi in the city of Vantaa, Finland, as our case study area, because it is a popular outdoor recreation area around the year. We identified 14 key elements of the supply of local CES and 22 socio-cultural values for the demand for local CES. We found little seasonal change in recreation supply, but the socio-demographic characteristics and demands of summer and off-summer visitors varied significantly. Demand was higher and more diverse during the summer season, while off-summer visitors were more specific in their demands. Moreover, some visitors feared that some socio-cultural values can be lost if the recreational use of the lake area increases. We discuss our findings in a theoretical context focusing especially on interactions between supply and demand of local CES at Lake Kuusijärvi.peerReviewe

Urban forests near roads do not reduce gaseous air pollutant concentrations but have an impact on particles levels

Peer reviewe

Greenbelts do not reduce NO2 concentrations in near-road environments

Trees are believed to improve air quality, thus providing an important ecosystem service for urban inhabitants. However, empirical evidence on the beneficial effects of urban vegetation on air quality at the local level and in boreal climatic regions is scarce. We studied the influence of greenbelt-type forest patches on NO2 levels (i) in front of, (ii) inside and (iii) behind greenbelts next to major roads in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, Finland, during summer and winter using passive collectors. Concentrations of NO2 were significantly higher in front of greenbelts compared to road sides without greenbelts. The more trees there were inside greenbelts the higher the NO2 level in front of greenbelts, likely due to the formation of a recirculation zone of air flow in front of greenbelts. Similarly, NO2 levels were higher inside greenbelts than in open areas without them, likely due to reduced air flow inside greenbelts. NO2 levels behind greenbelts were similar to those detected at the same distance from the road but without greenbelts. Our results suggest that, regardless of season, roadside greenbelts of mostly broadleaf trees do not reduce NO2 levels in near-road environments, but can result in higher NO2 levels in front of and inside greenbelts.Trees are believed to improve air quality, thus providing an important ecosystem service for urban inhabitants. However, empirical evidence on the beneficial effects of urban vegetation on air quality at the local level and in boreal climatic regions is scarce. We studied the influence of greenbelt-type forest patches on NO2 levels (i) in front of, (ii) inside and (iii) behind greenbelts next to major roads in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, Finland, during summer and winter using passive collectors. Concentrations of NO2 were significantly higher in front of greenbelts compared to road sides without greenbelts. The more trees there were inside greenbelts the higher the NO2 level in front of greenbelts, likely due to the formation of a recirculation zone of air flow in front of greenbelts. Similarly, NO2 levels were higher inside greenbelts than in open areas without them, likely due to reduced air flow inside greenbelts. NO2 levels behind greenbelts were similar to those detected at the same distance from the road but without greenbelts. Our results suggest that, regardless of season, roadside greenbelts of mostly broadleaf trees do not reduce NO2 levels in near-road environments, but can result in higher NO2 levels in front of and inside greenbelts.Peer reviewe

Impacts of residential infilling on private gardens in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area

Peer reviewe

Trees in urban parks and forests reduce O3, but not NO2 concentrations in Baltimore, MD, USA

Trees and other vegetation absorb and capture air pollutants, leading to the common perception that they, and trees in particular, can improve air quality in cities and provide an important ecosystem service for urban inhabitants. Yet, there has been a lack of empirical evidence showing this at the local scale with different plant configurations and climatic regions. We studied the impact of urban park and forest vegetation on the levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and ground-level ozone (O3) while controlling for temperature during early summer (May) using passive samplers in Baltimore, USA. Concentrations of O3 were significantly lower in tree-covered habitats than in adjacent open habitats, but concentrations of NO2 did not differ significantly between tree-covered and open habitats. Higher temperatures resulted in higher pollutant concentrations and NO2 and O3 concentration were negatively correlated with each other. Our results suggest that the role of trees in reducing NO2 concentrations in urban parks and forests in the Mid-Atlantic USA is minor, but that the presence of tree-cover can result in lower O3 levels compared to similar open areas. Our results further suggest that actions aiming at local air pollution mitigation should consider local variability in vegetation, climate, micro-climate, and traffic conditions.Peer reviewe

Monetary value of urban green space as an ecosystem service provider : A case study of urban runoff management in Finland

The predicted increase in the number of urban flood events can result in substantial monetary losses to society. These costs may be alleviated by preserving ecosystem services, such as urban runoff management. We studied the monetary value of this ecosystem service by applying the replacement cost method in six catchments with varying land-use intensities in two cities in Finland. The economic analysis was based on metric data of urban runoff generation, provided by automatic monitoring stations in the catchments. A hydrological model was applied to estimate evaporation from impervious surfaces, and to simulate runoff in the catchments. Our results suggest that leaving green space unconstructed results in significant monetary savings. The cost of managing runoff correlated with land-use intensity. The ecosystem service value (ESV) was generally higher in catchments with high land-use intensity, low proportion of green space, and high costs of runoff management. Depending on the degree of imperviousness, the ESV ranged from 90,000–270,000 € ha−1. Further, our results suggest that estimates of runoff generation and evaporation are key hydrological factors for assessing ESV. Our study demonstrates how the combination of field data and hydrological and monetary analyses can support regional planning in cold climates.Peer reviewe

(Dis) integrated valuation - Assessing the information gaps in ecosystem service appraisals for governance support

The operational challenges of integrated ecosystem service (ES) appraisals are determined by study purpose, system complexity and uncertainty, decision-makers' requirements for reliability and accuracy of methods, and approaches to stakeholder-science interaction in different decision contexts. To explore these factors we defined an information gap hypothesis, based on a theory of cumulative uncertainty in ES appraisals. When decision context requirements for accuracy and reliability increase, and the expected uncertainty of the ES appraisal methods also increases, the likelihood of methods being used is expected to drop, creating a potential information gap in governance. In order to test this information gap hypothesis, we evaluate 26 case studies and 80 ecosystem services appraisals in a large integrated EU research project. We find some support for a decreasing likelihood of ES appraisal methods coinciding with increasing accuracy and reliability requirements of the decision-support context, and with increasing uncertainty. We do not find that information costs are the explanation for this information gap, but rather that the research project interacted mostly with stakeholders outside the most decision-relevant contexts. The paper discusses how alternative definitions of integrated valuation can lead to different interpretations of decision-support information, and different governance approaches to dealing with uncertainty. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Integrating methods for ecosystem service assessment: Experiences from real world situations

The Ecosystem Services (ES) concept highlights the varied contributions the environment provides to humans and there are a wide range of methods/tools available to assess ES. However, in real-world decision contexts a single tool is rarely sufficient and methods must be combined to meet practitioner needs. Here, results from the OpenNESS project are presented to illustrate the methods selected to meet the needs of 24 real-world case studies and better understand why and how methods are combined to meet practical needs. Results showed that within the cases methods were combined to: i) address a range of ES; ii) assess both supply and demand of ES; iii) assess a range of value types; iv) reach different stake-holder groups v) cover weaknesses in other methods used and vi) to meet specific decision context needs. Methods were linked in a variety of ways: i) as input-output chains of methods; ii) through learning; iii) through method development and iv) through comparison/triangulation of results. The paper synthesises these case study-based experiences to provide insight to others working in practical contexts as to where, and in what contexts, different methods can be combined and how this can add value to case study analyses. (C) 2017 Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewe

Integrated assessment and valuation of ecosystem services - Guidelines and experiences

EU FP7 OpenNESS project deliverable D33 & D4