Forest and the city: A multivariate analysis of peri-urban forest land cover patterns in 283 European metropolitan areas |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, Research Centre for the Soil-Plant System (CREA-RPS), Via della Navicella 2–4, I-00184 Rome, Italy;2. Department of Social and Economic Sciences (DISSE), Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale A. Moro 5, I-00185 Rome, Italy;3. Department of Architecture and Design, Sapienza University of Rome, Via Flaminia 359, I-00196 Rome, Italy;4. School of Agricultural, Forest, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Basilicata, Viale dell''Ateneo Lucano 10, I-85100 Potenza, Italy;5. Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, Forestry Research Centre (CREA-SEL), Via Santa Margherita 80, I-52100 Arezzo, Italy;1. Faculty of Science and Technology, Campus of Gambelas, University of Algarve, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal;2. Centre of Marine Sciences, Campus of Gambelas, University of Algarve, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal;3. Department of Ecology and Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Łódź, 90-237 Łódź, 12/16 Banacha Str., Poland;4. Department of Applied Ecology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Łódź, 90-237 Łódź, 12/16 Banacha Str., Poland;5. Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar;1. Laboratório de Ensaios Farmacológicos e Toxicológicos, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande – FURG, Av. Itália, km 8, Campus Carreiros, CEP 96203-900 Rio Grande, RS, Brazil;2. Centro de Estudos do Ambiente e Mar, Departamento de Biologia Animal – Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal;1. School of Agriculture, Laboratory of Ecology and Environmental Protection, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece;2. School of Agriculture, Laboratory of Agronomy, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece;3. School of Agriculture, Laboratory of Agricultural Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece |
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| Abstract: | Heterogeneous definitions of urban areas and poorly homogenized forest data at the country scale have hampered the comparative assessment of peri-urban forest structure in developed countries. The present study investigates selected landscape characteristics of peri-urban forests in 283 metropolitan areas in Europe controlling for the role of the local context and regional suburbanization trends. Using landscape metrics derived from Urban Atlas maps (a Copernicus/GMES initiative providing a comprehensive land-use assessment of European cities >100,000 inhabitants), significant differences in peri-urban forest structure were detected under five European regions. Specific class metrics (percent forest area, mean patch size, perimeter-to-area ratio) were correlated with urban morphology, landscape and territorial indicators. On average, forest cover is larger in northern and southern European metropolitan areas. Forest patch size increases from western to eastern Europe, with more regular patch shapes in central and eastern regions and less regular shapes in the rest of Europe. Forest class area increases with the area of discontinuous, medium-density settlements. Forest patch size increases with the average patch size of discontinuous dense urban fabric. Our evidence outlines a ‘sprawl model' shaping fringe landscapes characterized by discontinuous urban settlements mixed with fragmented – but possibly well protected – forest patches. |
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| Keywords: | Urban atlas Sprawl Socioeconomic context Landscape metrics Europe |
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