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Li Y, Svenning JC, Zhou W, Zhu K, Abrams JF, Lenton TM, Ripple WJ, Yu Z, Teng SN, Dunn RR, Xu C. Green spaces provide substantial but unequal urban cooling globally. Nat Commun 2024; 15:7108. [PMID: 39223143 PMCID: PMC11369290 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-51355-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2023] [Accepted: 08/05/2024] [Indexed: 09/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Climate warming disproportionately impacts countries in the Global South by increasing extreme heat exposure. However, geographic disparities in adaptation capacity are unclear. Here, we assess global inequality in green spaces, which urban residents critically rely on to mitigate outdoor heat stress. We use remote sensing data to quantify daytime cooling by urban greenery in the warm seasons across the ~500 largest cities globally. We show a striking contrast, with Global South cities having ~70% of the cooling capacity of cities in the Global North (2.5 ± 1.0 °C vs. 3.6 ± 1.7 °C). A similar gap occurs for the cooling adaptation benefits received by an average resident in these cities (2.2 ± 0.9 °C vs. 3.4 ± 1.7 °C). This cooling adaptation inequality is due to discrepancies in green space quantity and quality between cities in the Global North and South, shaped by socioeconomic and natural factors. Our analyses further suggest a vast potential for enhancing cooling adaptation while reducing global inequality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuxiang Li
- School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
| | - Jens-Christian Svenning
- Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere (ECONOVO), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Weiqi Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Beijing Urban Ecosystem Research Station, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Kai Zhu
- School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Jesse F Abrams
- Global Systems Institute, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | | | - William J Ripple
- Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA
| | - Zhaowu Yu
- Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Shuqing N Teng
- School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.
| | - Robert R Dunn
- Department of Applied Ecology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.
| | - Chi Xu
- School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.
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Aznarez C, Kumar S, Marquez-Torres A, Pascual U, Baró F. Ecosystem service mismatches evidence inequalities in urban heat vulnerability. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 922:171215. [PMID: 38428611 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2023] [Revised: 01/23/2024] [Accepted: 02/21/2024] [Indexed: 03/03/2024]
Abstract
Exposure to heat poses a pressing challenge in cities, with uneven health and environmental impacts across the urban fabric. To assess disparities in heat vulnerability and its environmental justice implications, we model supply-demand mismatches for the ecosystem service (ES) urban temperature regulation. We integrated remote sensing, health, and socio-demographic data with Artificial Intelligence for Environment and Sustainability (ARIES) and geographical information system tools. We computed composite indicators at the census tract level for urban cooling supply, and vulnerability to heat as a measure of demand. We do so in the context of the mid-size city of Vitoria-Gasteiz, Basque Country (Europe). We mapped relative mismatches after identifying and analysed their relationship with socio-demographic and health factors. Our findings show disparities in heat vulnerability, with increased exposure observed among socio-economically disadvantaged communities, the elderly, and people with health issues. Areas associated with higher income levels show lower ES mismatches, indicating higher temperature regulation supply and reduced heat vulnerability. The results point at the need for nature-based heat mitigation interventions that especially focus on the more socio-economically disadvantaged communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Celina Aznarez
- Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain; Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3), Leioa, Spain.
| | | | | | - Unai Pascual
- Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3), Leioa, Spain; Basque Foundation for Science, Ikerbasque, Bilbao, Spain
| | - Francesc Baró
- Department of Geography, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium; Department of Sociology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium
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3
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Kropp H. Historical changes in tree and impervious surface cover following urban renewal in a small postindustrial city. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2024:10.1007/s00267-023-01934-6. [PMID: 38217696 DOI: 10.1007/s00267-023-01934-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2023] [Accepted: 12/28/2023] [Indexed: 01/15/2024]
Abstract
Changes in tree cover and impervious surfaces have been observed across many cities in the United States over the past 70 years. Many municipalities are implementing tree planting programs in efforts to increase tree cover. A detailed understanding of historical changes in land cover can inform urban forest management. I applied a convolutional neural network image segmentation approach to historical aerial imagery to delineate changes in land cover in 1957, 1974, and 2017 in Utica, New York, a small, postindustrial city. The model predicted tree, pavement, and building land cover in each year with overall accuracies ranging from 82-87%. From 1957 to 2017, tree cover declined in many areas and impervious surface cover (buildings and pavement) increased. Tree cover gains largely occurred in uninhabited, natural areas; whereas, the greatest declines in tree coverage occurred in many residential areas following the start of the urban renewal efforts in 1957. Current tree planting efforts targeted at homeowners could drive disparities in future tree cover since several areas of Utica with low tree have a high proportion of renter occupied homes and a low median household income. Convolutional Neural Network approaches for image segmentation of aerial imagery are a helpful tool in understanding patterns in changes in tree and impervious surfaces. A better understanding of the legacies of historical policies and neighborhood-scale changes in land cover can assist in highlighting priorities for urban forest management and justice-oriented urban forestry approaches to urban tree planting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heather Kropp
- Environmental Studies Program, Hamilton College, Clinton, NY, USA.
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Yu W, Albert G, Rosenbaum B, Schnabel F, Bruelheide H, Connolly J, Härdtle W, von Oheimb G, Trogisch S, Rüger N, Brose U. Systematic distributions of interaction strengths across tree interaction networks yield positive diversity-productivity relationships. Ecol Lett 2024; 27:e14338. [PMID: 38030225 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14338] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2023] [Revised: 10/16/2023] [Accepted: 10/20/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the mechanisms underlying diversity-productivity relationships (DPRs) is crucial to mitigating the effects of forest biodiversity loss. Tree-tree interactions in diverse communities are fundamental in driving growth rates, potentially shaping the emergent DPRs, yet remain poorly explored. Here, using data from a large-scale forest biodiversity experiment in subtropical China, we demonstrated that changes in individual tree productivity were driven by species-specific pairwise interactions, with higher positive net pairwise interaction effects on trees in more diverse neighbourhoods. By perturbing the interactions strength from empirical data in simulations, we revealed that the positive differences between inter- and intra-specific interactions were the critical determinant for the emergence of positive DPRs. Surprisingly, the condition for positive DPRs corresponded to the condition for coexistence. Our results thus provide a novel insight into how pairwise tree interactions regulate DPRs, with implications for identifying the tree mixtures with maximized productivity to guide forest restoration and reforestation efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wentao Yu
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biodiversity, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Georg Albert
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biodiversity, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
- Department of Forest Nature Conservation, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Benjamin Rosenbaum
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biodiversity, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Florian Schnabel
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Systematic Botany and Functional Biodiversity, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Helge Bruelheide
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biology/Geobotany and Botanical Garden, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - John Connolly
- School of Mathematics and Statistics, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, Ireland
| | - Werner Härdtle
- Institute of Ecology, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Lüneburg, Germany
| | - Goddert von Oheimb
- Institute of General Ecology and Environmental Protection, Technische Universität Dresden, Tharandt, Germany
| | - Stefan Trogisch
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biology/Geobotany and Botanical Garden, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Nadja Rüger
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Economics, Institute of Empirical Economic Research, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Ancón, Panama
| | - Ulrich Brose
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biodiversity, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
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Frantz D, Schug F, Wiedenhofer D, Baumgart A, Virág D, Cooper S, Gómez-Medina C, Lehmann F, Udelhoven T, van der Linden S, Hostert P, Haberl H. Unveiling patterns in human dominated landscapes through mapping the mass of US built structures. Nat Commun 2023; 14:8014. [PMID: 38049425 PMCID: PMC10695923 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43755-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2023] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 12/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Built structures increasingly dominate the Earth's landscapes; their surging mass is currently overtaking global biomass. We here assess built structures in the conterminous US by quantifying the mass of 14 stock-building materials in eight building types and nine types of mobility infrastructures. Our high-resolution maps reveal that built structures have become 2.6 times heavier than all plant biomass across the country and that most inhabited areas are mass-dominated by buildings or infrastructure. We analyze determinants of the material intensity and show that densely built settlements have substantially lower per-capita material stocks, while highest intensities are found in sparsely populated regions due to ubiquitous infrastructures. Out-migration aggravates already high intensities in rural areas as people leave while built structures remain - highlighting that quantifying the distribution of built-up mass at high resolution is an essential contribution to understanding the biophysical basis of societies, and to inform strategies to design more resource-efficient settlements and a sustainable circular economy.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Frantz
- Geoinformatics - Spatial Data Science, Trier University, Trier, Germany.
- Geography Department, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Franz Schug
- Geography Department, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Integrated Research Institute on Transformations of Human Environment Systems (IRI THESys), Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- SILVIS Lab, Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Dominik Wiedenhofer
- Institute of Social Ecology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - André Baumgart
- Institute of Social Ecology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Doris Virág
- Institute of Social Ecology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Sam Cooper
- Geography Department, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Fabian Lehmann
- Institute for Computer Science, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Thomas Udelhoven
- Environmental Remote Sensing and Geoinformatics, Trier University, Trier, Germany
| | | | - Patrick Hostert
- Geography Department, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Integrated Research Institute on Transformations of Human Environment Systems (IRI THESys), Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Helmut Haberl
- Institute of Social Ecology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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Buřivalová Z, Yoh N, Butler RA, Chandra Sagar HSS, Game ET. Broadening the focus of forest conservation beyond carbon. Curr Biol 2023; 33:R621-R635. [PMID: 37279693 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.04.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Two concurrent trends are contributing towards a much broader view of forest conservation. First, the appreciation of the role of forests as a nature-based climate solution has grown rapidly, particularly among governments and the private sector. Second, the spatiotemporal resolution of forest mapping and the ease of tracking forest changes have dramatically improved. As a result, who does and who pays for forest conservation is changing: sectors and people previously considered separate from forest conservation now play an important role and need to be held accountable and motivated or forced to conserve forests. This change requires, and has stimulated, a broader range of forest conservation solutions. The need to assess the outcomes of conservation interventions has motivated the development and application of sophisticated econometric analyses, enabled by high resolution satellite data. At the same time, the focus on climate, together with the nature of available data and evaluation methods, has worked against a more comprehensive view of forest conservation. Instead, it has encouraged a focus on trees as carbon stores, often leaving out other important goals of forest conservation, such as biodiversity and human wellbeing. Even though both are intrinsically connected to climate outcomes, these areas have not kept pace with the scale and diversification of forest conservation. Finding synergies between these 'co-benefits', which play out on a local scale, with the carbon objective, related to the global amount of forests, is a major challenge and area for future advances in forest conservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zuzana Buřivalová
- The Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies and the Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
| | - Natalie Yoh
- The Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies and the Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | | | - H S Sathya Chandra Sagar
- The Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies and the Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Edward T Game
- The Nature Conservancy, South Brisbane, QLD 4101, Australia; School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
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