Green infrastructure sustains the food-energy-water-habitat nexus

Abstract

The ecosystem service potential of urban green infrastructure (GI) is increasingly appreciated, yet its underpinning role in the food-energy-water-habitat (FEWH) nexus is unclear. In order to explore the positive and negative impacts of GI on the FEWH nexus, this study asked three questions: 1) What are the research hotspots in FEWH for GI and what are the trends over time? 2) What ecosystem services can GI provide in terms of FEWH? 3) Can we quantify the ecosystem service potential of GI, and what are the synergies and trade-offs among the service types? By collating the research evidence which supports the ecosystem service potential of GI to contribute to FEWH, we developed a matrix to score the potential and to assess the synergies and trade-offs among ecosystem services. From this, a conceptual framework of the role of GI in supporting the FEWH nexus was developed. The results show that the potential of GI to sustain the FEWH nexus is significant and that multi-functional GI planning is necessary to minimize the trade-offs between them. This requires the application of new methods, theories, adaptation to new circumstances, and the development of appropriate business models within the planning domain, as well as compliance with policy directions and funding externally.