Ecosystem services of collectively managed urban gardens: Exploring factors affecting synergies and trade-offs at the site level

Matthew Dennis, Philip James

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Collective management of urban green space is being acknowledged and promoted. The need to understand productivity and potential trade-offs between co-occurring ecosystem services arising from collectively managed pockets of green space is pivotal to the design and promotion of both productive urban areas and effective stakeholder participation in their management. Quantitative assessments of ecosystem service production were obtained from detailed site surveys at ten examples of collectively managed urban gardens in Greater Manchester, UK. Correlation analyses demonstrated high levels of synergy between ecological (biodiversity) and social (learning and well-being) benefits related to such spaces.
Trade-offs were highly mediated by site size and design, resulting in a tension between increasing site area and the co-management of ecosystem services. By highlighting synergies, trade-offs and the significance of site area, the results offer insight into the spatially sensitive nature of ecosystem services arising
from multi-functional collectively managed urban gardens.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)17-26
Number of pages10
JournalEcosystem Services
Issue number26
Early online date7 Jun 2017
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug 2017

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