Ecosystem services provided by urban woody plants in the context of spatial relations: Çankırı case area

Abstract

Ecosystem services (ES), which are defined as the benefits provided by humans from ecosystems, provide recreation opportunities for urban people with green areas in the cities, while supporting biodiversity on the other hand. This research seeks to answer the following 3 questions: (1) Can the contribution of plants used in urban parks to urban ES be measured? (2) Are the location and characteristics of the areas where plants are placed in urban parks a factor in providing ES? (3) Which ES stands out in the network of relationships established by the ES provided by plants in urban green spaces? Within the scope of these questions, ES provided by woody plants in Çankırı urban park, which is an essential green area for Çankırı/Türkiye, were examined. In the light of the examinations on-site, the presence of 49 woody plant taxa was determined. The contribution of plant taxa to the ecosystem has been assessed within the framework of 13 sub-parameters related to provisioning, supporting, regulating and cultural services. Hot spot analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis methods were used to determine the ES and spatial distribution of taxa within the park. Subsequently, a centrality analysis was carried out in the Graph Commons program using the network mapping method to determine the importance of ES provided by plants. As a result of the study, it was revealed that the woody plants used in Çankırı urban park contribute highly to the urban ecosystem in terms of pollination, erosion control, recreation and education, soil and air quality improvement and habitat provision. However, the spatial distribution of taxa was not balanced. Therefore, a balanced spatial distribution of woody plant taxa, which make a valuable contribution to ES, in urban green spaces is an issue that should be considered in urban ES planning.