Rethinking urban forests as essential infrastructure for resilience, equity, and biodiversity in the current climate emergency

作者：Manuel Esperón‐Rodríguez, Rachael V. Gallagher, Stefan Arndt, Michael Osei Asibey, Benno A. Augustinus, Mónica Ballinas, Vı́ctor L. Barradas, David N. Barton, Jürgen Bauhus, Linda J. Beaumont, Jean‐François Bissonnette, Matthew Brookhouse, Pedro Calaza-Martínez, Carlo Calfapietra, Tiago Capela Lourenço, Paloma Cariñanos, Matteo Clemente, Tenley Conway, Kees de Hoogh, Karen De Pauw, Morgane Dendoncker, Cynnamon Dobbs, Peter N. Duinker, Ujala Ejaz, Ana Alice Eleuterio, Theodore Endreny, Diego Esperon-Rodriguez, Claire Farrell, Zhengfei Guo, Nanamhla Gwedla, Richard J. Hauer, Martin Hermy, Peta Jeffries, Edith Juno, Gervais Lee, Elizaveta Litvak, Natalie Love, Gabriele Manoli, Renée M. Marchin, Alexander J.F. Martin, John M. Martin, Timon McPhearson, Christian Messier, Julie Messier, Rachel Morgain, Harini Nagendra, Mark Nieuwenhuijsen, Lukas G. Olson, Johan Östberg, Diane Pataki, Sebastian Pfautsch, Sally A. Power, Mohammad A. Rahman, Thomas B. Randrup, Peter B. Reich, Alessio Russo, Paul D. Rymer, Rossano Schifanella, Charlie Shackleton, Mahmuda Sharmin, Davide Siclari, Sivajanani Sivarajah, Johanna Deak Sjöman, Henrik Sjöman, Ingjerd Solfjeld, Annick St‐Denis, Jens-Christian Svenning, Christopher Szota, María Toledo‐Garibaldi, Olivier Villemaire‐Côté, Jess Vogt, Mingxuan Wan, Linsheng Wen, Geoffrey Williams, Nicholas S. G. Williams, Björn Wiström, Hong Wu, Pegbo Yan, Yuyu Zhou, Carly D. Ziter, Jean-Bosco Benewinde Zoungrana, Mark G. Tjoelker · 发表于：PLOS Climate · 年份：2026 · DOI：10.1371/journal.pclm.0000953 · 被引用次数：1 · 研究领域：Urban Green Space and Health、Urban Agriculture and Sustainability、Land Use and Ecosystem Services

Urban forests are not merely green amenities; they support critical ecosystem functioning and services vital for healthy, resilient cities. Recognising urban forests as core infrastructure is essential to reversing the loss of mature trees, preserving biodiversity, and maintaining liveability amid increasing climate and environmental pressures. Although the benefits of urban forests for climate resilience, biodiversity, and public health are broadly acknowledged, policies to protect and enhance these vital ecosystems are often limited, underfunded, and inadequately enforced. As mature canopy loss today takes decades to be replaced (if ever), immediate and sustained investment is crucial to safeguard urban forests. This urgency reveals four interconnected gaps in current urban forest management and stewardship. First, urban forests require recognition, investment, and maintenance as essential infrastructure contributing to urban resilience, including biodiversity support, and to maximise the delivery of key ecosystem services such as cooling and carbon sequestration. Second, equitable access to greenspaces across all communities must be ensured to redress long-standing social and environmental injustices. Third, integrating urban forests into broader climate and biodiversity governance frameworks is critical to mainstreaming their management and protection. Lastly, resilience must be strengthened through evidence-based management practices responsive to evolving environmental ...