Urban freshwaters, biodiversity, and human health and well‐being: Setting an interdisciplinary research agenda

Abstract

The findings of a national workshop that explored the social and environmental impacts, challenges, and research opportunities associated with the role of urban freshwaters for improved public health are discussed. Bringing together the collective expertise of academics, practitioners, policy, and user‐groups from urban aquatic ecology and human health backgrounds, this commentary develops a progressive agenda for future research by synthesizing current understandings and knowledge of urban aquatic biodiversity relative to health‐related ecosystem service outcomes, from a cross‐sectoral and cross‐disciplinary perspective. Key areas include (a) a need for greater interaction between sectors to maximize opportunities for collaboration and to promote the cobenefits (both environmental and health) associated with urban freshwater ecosystems; and (b) the need for a unified understanding and operationalization of the definition of aquatic biodiversity across sectors and disciplines, to improve our understanding of whether actual freshwater biodiversity or the perception of biodiversity is important for maximizing gains in health. Methods of valuation relating to ecosystem services and resource allocation and investment in urban freshwaters are critical in ensuring that research addresses the pathways and contexts within which health and environmental benefits from blue space can be maximized. This article is categorized under: Human Water > Value of Water

Characteristics, Main Impacts, and Stewardship of Natural and Artificial Freshwater Environments: Consequences for Biodiversity Conservation

“…Urban freshwater biodiversity is often poor compared with non-urban landscapes [330]. However, modifications caused by urbanization can also make it possible for new native and introduced species to colonize freshwater ecosystems resulting in an increase in species richness to levels above that of pre-urban systems [331].…”

“…Dearborn and Kark (2009) [332] proposed seven possible motivations for conserving urban biodiversity and placed these along a gradient from those primarily providing benefits to humans to those primarily providing benefits to nature. A range of urban freshwater ecosystems can readily be identified as providing special and tangible benefits to humans by the mere fact of being blue spaces [331]. These blue spaces can help to preserve local biodiversity in an urbanizing environment and protect important populations of local species.…”

The thermal response of small and shallow lakes to climate change: new insights from 3D hindcast modelling

“…Small, shallow (i.e. surface < 1 km 2 , with light potentially penetrating to the bottom; Meerhoff and Jeppesen, 2009) urban lakes often grant valuable ecosystem services and contribute to the preservation of biodiversity (Frumkin et al, 2017;Hill et al, 2017;Hassall, 2014;Higgins et al, 2019). They are often prone to ecological deterioration and harmful algal blooms (Biggs et al, 2016;Wilkinson et al, 2020).…”

Ecosystem Services Provided By Urban Forests In The Southern Caucasus Region: A Modeling Study In Tbilisi, Georgia

“…Urban green spaces contribute to the absorption of carbon dioxide, remove gaseous pollutants and fine particulate matter from the air , mitigate extreme temperatures ( Santamouris and Osmond 2020) and the UHI (Urban heat island) effect by shading and the evapotranspiration (Rahman et al 2020), slow down soil erosion processes, reduce water run-off and facilitate the filtration process in the soil (Grey et al 2018), and preserve animal and plant biodiversity, promoting the pollination process with the breeding of various species and the biological control of populations (Dwyer et al 2003). In addition to environmental services, urban green spaces have an important social function because they are essential recreational and cultural spaces for the city , producing positive impacts on human health and wellbeing (Higgins et al 2019).…”