Ecosystem functions and services in urban stormwater ponds: Co‐producing knowledge for better management

Abstract

Urban stormwater management ponds (SWMPs) are widely employed for stormwater control, but knowledge about their contributions to urban ecosystem function and service delivery remains unclear. We organized a workshop that brought together researchers, managers and students to assess and discuss current information on SWMP ecosystem function and services, identify perceived knowledge gaps and prioritize research needs, to advance understanding and management of SWMPs in Ontario, Canada. Workshop participants identified habitat provisioning and regulation of water quality and quantity as key ecosystem functions in SWMPs. They also recognized carbon sequestration, flood prevention, water purification, educational potential, human health promotion and community engagement as important ecosystem services provided by SWMPs. Despite the availability of engineering information and practitioner knowledge, workshop participants suggested that information on the impacts of maintenance operations, biological condition, water quality, costs and benefits and impact on surrounding landscape are important gaps that hinder a modern approach to design and management of SWMPs for multiple co‐benefits. Participants suggested current gaps can be tackled with a combination of continuous water‐quality monitoring, field, laboratory and mesocosm experiments. They also suggested that future SWMP studies take advantage of existing community and governmental databases using meta‐analyses to summarize knowledge and provide future directions. Practical implication: By linking knowledge gaps to management needs, this practice insight provides a road map that can be used to advance management of SWMPs in Ontario and elsewhere.