Abstract
Nature-based solutions are increasingly relevant tools for spatial and environmental planning, climate change adaptation (CCA), and disaster risk reduction (DRR). For this reason, a wide range of institutions, governments, and financial bodies are currently promoting the use of green infrastructure (GI) as an alternative or a complement to traditional grey infrastructure. A considerable amount of research already certifies the benefits and multi-functionality of GI: natural water retention measures (NWRMs), as GIs related specifically to the water sector are also known, are, for instance, a key instrument for the prevention and mitigation of extreme phenomena, such as floods and droughts. However, there are persisting difficulties in locating and identifying GI and one of the most promising solutions to this issue, the use of satellite-based data products, is hampered by a lack of well-grounded knowledge, experiences, and tools. To bridge this gap, we performed a review of the Copernicus Global Land Service (CGLS) products, which consist of freely-available bio-geophysical indices covering the globe at mid-to-low spatial resolutions. Specifically, we focused on vegetation and energy indices, examining previous research works that made use of them and evaluating their current quality, aiming to define their potential for studying GI and especially NWRMs related to agriculture, forest, and hydro-morphology. NWRM benefits are also considered in the analysis, namely: (i) NWRM biophysical impacts (BPs), (ii) ecosystem services delivered by NWRMs (ESs), and (iii) policy objectives (POs) expressed by European Directives that NWRMs can help to achieve. The results of this study are meant to assist GI users in employing CGLS products and ease their decision-making process. Based on previous research experiences and the quality of the currently available versions, this analysis provides useful tools to identify which indices can be used to study several types of NWRMs, assess their benefits, and prioritize the most suitable ones.
Highlights
Green infrastructures (GIs) are often presented as nature-based solutions in the context of both spatial and environmental planning [1,2]
The main result of the work that we performed is the linking of the vegetation and energy indices freely available in the Copernicus Global Land Service (CGLS) to natural water retention measures (NWRMs), biophysical impacts (BPs), ecosystem services (ESs), and policy objectives (POs), on the basis of scientific articles that were found through a deep literature review
Remotely-sensed satellite data keeps proving its high potential for monitoring the Earth, easing spatial planning and land use management tasks in large areas
Summary
Green infrastructures (GIs) are often presented as nature-based solutions in the context of both spatial and environmental planning [1,2]. This definition states that GIs are primarily spatial tools for the delivery of both green and blue (when considering aquatic systems) ecosystem services (ESs) in terrestrial, coastal, or marine areas [2,3,4,9,10,11]. Multi-functionality is perhaps the most important characteristic of GIs, which are capable of delivering multiple benefits to both nature and human-beings [10,13]: Given their cost-effectiveness [14], it is advocated that, where possible, they should be preferred to single-purpose grey infrastructures. The restoration of a floodplain, a typical GI, is an example of this: Such a measure would provide flood risk reduction, water storage, biodiversity protection, and recreational opportunities [15], whereas only the first benefit would be delivered by grey flood defenses
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