Improving the provision of ecosystem services from urban forest by integrating the species’ potential environmental functions in tree selecting process

Abstract

Due to the fact that urban environments and population demands are evolving rapidly and species selection is inevitable, it is possible to gain substantial environmental benefit by implementing more effective urban tree planting programs, especially with the aim of increasing the upcoming provision of multiple ecosystem services (ES) through proper species selection. In this paper, we used a new approach to improve the potential of urban trees in optimizing more desirable environmental benefits. This was done by selecting the most appropriate tree species among a vast range of species based on their potential environmental function (both services and disservices) in Tabriz city, Iran. Also, three main planting scenarios (divided to six sub-scenarios) were developed so as to understand the long-term effectiveness of introducing the selected tree species in improving the environmental benefits (both urban forest structure and ES) in comparison with planting the existing tree species. The results indicate that regardless of the quantity of planting, the benefits of introducing the selected trees will be more than planting the existing species. Moreover, as the amount of the annual planting of the recommended species increases, so does the improvement in the projected tree characteristics and ES. This approach creates more opportunities which enable urban forest managers and policymakers to understand the importance of selecting the proper urban tree species when looking for a nature-based solution to promote the wellbeing of the urban population, to create more livable and ecologically sustainable cities and to mitigate urban environmental problems.