Vegetation-based ecosystem service delivery in urban landscapes: A systematic review

Abstract

The use of plants in cities and the ecosystem services they provide has attracted increased attention both publicly and within the research literature. Increasingly, the value of urban green and blue space is being recognised for its multiple benefits to human wellness and ecological integrity.A quantitative assessment of studies considering nature-based solutions and ecosystem services can identify the current evidence‐base for improving the provisioning of plant ecosystem services management and understanding barriers to adoption of nature-based solutions. Here, we provide a systematic review of the literature to characterise the current state of research on ecosystem service provision by urban blue and green space.We identified 684 relevant studies on urban plant literature and extracted key research themes. Studies were generally focused on terrestrial systems (89%) compared to aquatic systems such as blue space (11%). Geographically most studies were focused on Europe (39%), Asia (23%), and N. America (22%). Trees were the most frequently reported vegetation type studies (29%) followed by generic vegetation (20%), grassland (11%), forest (7%), and aquatic vegetation (5%). Many studies were short (41%), collecting data only over a single year or single field season. Many of the long-term studies are concerning land use/land cover change. Most studies (64%) were conducted for less than five years. The most-reported methodology was remote sensing technology (15%), followed by field surveys (8%), stakeholder surveys (6%), and ecosystem service models (5%). The most-reported ecosystem service types were regulation and maintenance (54%), cultural (28%), and provisioning (16%). Only a small number of studies looked solely at disservice (1%) or discussed ecosystem services in generic terms. Disservices were reported in only 16% of studies with the greatest single category of a disservice being biogenic volatile organic compounds and allergenic potential. Few studies (13%) reported on the use of nature-based solutions and these 80% only focused on a single nature-based solution. There was a lack of detail on plant species, 68% (n = 468) did not list the species studied.We conclude that there is a broad spectrum of research on urban vegetation services, overall, the focus of the literature is uneven. Research should seek to examine the species-specific responses to urbanisation and counter geographic disparities. There is also a need for longitudinal experimental data to identify the functioning and ecosystem service provision of green infrastructure in both urban green and blue space and factors that influence performance over policy- and management-relevant timescales.