Location, location, location: modelling of noise mitigation by urban woodland shows the benefit of targeted tree planting in cities

Fletcher, David H. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5029-7453; Garrett, Joanne K.; Thomas, Amy ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4929-7285; Fitch, Alice ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6260-8957; Cryle, Phil; Shilton, Simon; Jones, Laurence ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4379-9006. 2022 Location, location, location: modelling of noise mitigation by urban woodland shows the benefit of targeted tree planting in cities [in special issue: Designing resilient cities by ecosystem service mapping] Sustainability, 14 (12), 7079. 15, pp. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14127079

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Abstract/Summary

Noise pollution from road traffic is ubiquitous in modern cities and is the second greatest environmental risk to health in Western Europe. Urban woodland can provide substantial noise mitigation if located properly, yet such considerations are often absent from the urban planning process. Current approaches for quantifying this important ecosystem service (ES) do not account adequately for important spatial factors and are unable to identify effectively the best locations to place new woodland for noise mitigation. We present new methods, in which we exploit the concept of least-cost-distance, to map and value the mitigating effect of urban woodland, and to identify optimal locations to place new woodland. Applying these methods, we show that urban woodland currently provides Birmingham City (UK) with over GBP 3.8 million in noise mitigation benefits, annually. We also show that our new ‘opportunity’ mapping methods effectively identify the best locations for new woodland, achieving close to a maximum service with less than a quarter of the additional woodland needed to achieve it. This has important implications for the design and implementation of urban tree planting for noise mitigation, and these methods can be adapted for other ES, allowing consideration of multiple service outcomes.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.3390/su14127079
UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:	Soils and Land Use (Science Area 2017-)
ISSN:	2071-1050
Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:	Open Access paper - full text available via Official URL link.
Additional Keywords:	green infrastructure, ecosystem service valuation, urban green space, planning
NORA Subject Terms:	Ecology and Environment
Date made live:	02 Jan 2023 11:12 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/533801

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