Native trees provide more benefits than exotic trees when ecosystem services are weighted in Santiago, Chile

Gabriela Arcos-Lebert,Fabián M Jaksic,Javier A Figueroa,Sergio A Castro,Tamara Aravena-Hidalgo

doi:10.1007/s00468-021-02144-5

Abstract

Urban forests are conformed by a variable representation of native and exotic species. Because these species differ in the morpho-functional traits that possess, they may have a differential participation in the provision of ecosystem services in cities. Here, we compare ecosystem services inferred from morpho-functional traits of native and exotic tree species present in Santiago, Chile. Five traits associated with ecosystem services valuation (Vi) were scored (1 versus 0), and compared between native and exotic tree species, weighting those ecosystem services according to multi-criteria decision analysis procedure (MCDA). We found that native and exotic species did not have significant differences in the ecosystem services provided to urban dwellers (F = 1.2; P > 0.05); but these results were obtained when ecosystem services were not weighted according to their demand in Santiago. When weights were pondered, native species provided more ecosystem services than did exotic trees (F = 7.1; P < 0.008). Complementarily, we also found that the ecosystem services ranked for native and exotic species did not correlate with their spatial distribution (occupancy, Oi). These results highlight the need to use criteria based on ecosystem services to tree planting in Santiago, prioritizing native species because, in comparison to exotic ones, they provide more ecosystem services demanded city dwellers.

Highlights

Urban areas are undergoing a rapid expansion worldwide that results in complex patterns of landscape configuration and species composition (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005)
Urban trees are important components of the green infrastructure, because they are associated with the provision of diverse ecosystem services (Roy et al 2012; GómezBaggethun and Barton 2013; McBride 2017)
We found that native and exotic tree species did not differ significantly in the ecosystem services provided to urban-dwellers, when these ecosystem services were not weighted according to their demand in Santiago (F = 1.2; P > 0.05)

Summary

Introduction

Urban areas are undergoing a rapid expansion worldwide that results in complex patterns of landscape configuration and species composition (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005). These transformations demand adjustments of the provision of ecosystem services—i.e., those services associated with human well-being that come from biodiversity (MEA 2005)—toward favoring inhabitants (Güneralp et al 2013). Knowing the environmental needs demanded by a particular city, it may be possible to implement tree planting strategies using tree species that better satisfy these needs (Saebo et al 2003) Along this line, a key question is which of the ecosystem services demanded by a given city are covered by current urban trees

Methods

Results

Conclusion