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oa The Use of Gis and Remote Sensing Data for the Assessment of Ecosystem Services for Hydrological Cycle and Water Flow Regulation
- Publisher: European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers
- Source: Conference Proceedings, 17th International Conference Monitoring of Geological Processes and Ecological Condition of the Environment, Nov 2023, Volume 2023, p.1 - 5
Abstract
Urban green spaces (UGS) provide numerous benefits - ecosystem services (ES), including one of the prominent ones being - hydrological cycle and water flow regulation. This study aims to develop a methodology for geoinformation assessing these ecosystem services provided by UGS, using open-source GIS tools and remote sensing data. The methodology focuses on determining UGS’s effectiveness in fulfilling its water flow regulation function, both individually and as part of the city’s blue-green infrastructure (BGI).
To assess the effectiveness, a set of indicative parameters was determined based on characteristics of green spaces, including quickflow, local recharge, and baseflow, water-regulating coefficients of various vegetation types (ω_veg), soils (K_soil), and surface types (ω). These parameters allowed to determine the performance of water flow regulation functions for each UGS (E_water_control(g_a)) and the overall water flow regulation effectiveness within the river basin covered by the existing BGI (E_water_control). Using the Harrington desirability function, the study also quantified the ecosystem services for hydrological cycle and water flow regulation (ES_water_control).
The assessment methodology presented in this study can serve as a valuable tool for urban planning decisions and the adaptation of urban areas to climate change.