Ecology for future cities

Cities can work towards addressing biodiversity conservation, climate adaptation, and social equity goals. Evidence indicates that cities can foster species conservation and human-nature interactions. Yet achieving multifunctional and equitable urban ecosystems requires addressing ecological gaps, enhancing monitoring methods, and engaging communities in sustainable urban planning. The Special Issue “Ecology for future cities” presented in this editorial, aims to contribute to solving existing gaps by investigating key themes shaping the field of urban ecology and emphasizing advancements to understand the social-ecological dynamics in cities. In this editorial paper, we present the seven papers of the special issue, and how they fall within six topics: (1) mapping urban ecosystems; (2) drivers and implications of human-nature interactions; (3) taxonomic coverage and biodiversity structure; (4) ecological transformations; (5) improving the temporal coverage; and (6) how ecology informs urban planning. We also provide future research directions based on these topics. We conclude the editorial with some personal thoughts regarding the two cities where we grew up, which have shaped our relationships to and understanding of urban ecosystems and contribute to motivating our research interests.