Mapping ecosystem services in urban and peri‑urban areas. A systematic review

Abstract

Urban and peri‑urban ecosystems are subjected to an intense impact. The demand for ecosystem services (ES) is higher in these areas. Nevertheless, despite the anthropogenic pressures, urban and peri‑urban ecosystems supply important ES. Mapping is a crucial exercise to understand ES dynamics in these environments better. This work aims to systematically review mapping ES in urban and peri‑urban areas studies, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-alpha Methods. A total of 207 studies were selected. The results show increased work between 2011 and 2023, mainly conducted in Europe and China. Most work were developed in urban areas and did not follow an established ES classification. Most studies focused on the ES supply dimension, the regulation and maintenance section. Regarding provisioning ES, most studies focused on Cultivating terrestrial plants for nutrition, regulating and maintaining Atmospheric composition and conditions, and for cultural ES on Physical and experiential interactions with the natural environment. Quantitative methods were mostly applied following Indicator-based (secondary data: biophysical, socio-economic) models. Very few work validated the outputs. Several studies forecasted ES, primarily based on land use changes using CA-Markov approaches. This study provides an overview of the most mapped urban and peri‑urban ES globally, the areas where more studies need to be conducted, and the methods developed.