3. Background
During last decade the worldโซืณโฌs population living in urban areas, overpassed the
50% of the all the population; in Europe this percentage reach 70% and some
geographical context is still huger (United Nations, 2012). Urban forests are
often associated with in increment of quality of live in urban settlements. A lot of
research have reported that the proximity to green space in urban areas is
associated with improved well-being; in some studies is also reported that the
use of green spaces can improve the well-being including benefits related to both
physical and mental health.
4. Objectives
The main Emonfur Projectโs objective was to monitor the lowland, urban and
periurban forests (UPFs) that have a fundamental role for environmental balance
and sociality of the local communities, and are able to provide ecosystem
services for the community.
Through a wide-ranging monitoring activity of some areas in Lombardy (ITA) and
Slovenia, the project provided a methodology for assessing the impacts of the
urban and periurban forests on preservation, biodiversity maintaining, UHI
mitigation, CO2 sink, and UPFsโ influence in the preservation of the land and
quality of life of the local communities. At the same time, the project assessed the
effects of climate change on the evolution of the urban forest and specifically on
the development of some tree pathologies.
5. Objectives
The objectives of the project were:
- monitoring some sample areas in Lombardy and Slovenia in order to check the evolution and
growth of the forest systems given the situation of the ongoing climate changes and to study
the ecosystem services supplied by the urban and periurban forests;
- carrying out the first inventory of the urban and periurban forests, and the ones of artificial
origin in Lombardy as reference for future inventories at national level;
- defining , as first experience of a permanent monitoring network of the natural and artificial
origin urban and periurban forests;
- developing a monitoring proposal that constitutes a reference point at European level;
- assessing governance activities for the urban and periurban forests in Lombardy and
Slovenia;
- involving the local communities on the importance of monitoring and about the significant
role of the forests in the mitigation of climate changes, and improve the quality of life in urban
and periurban areas.
6. Upf in Lombardy
INDICATORS URBAN AND PERIURBAN
FOREST AREAS IN LOMBARDY
UPF Region
N. Urban
municipalities
classified
714 46,24 %
Forest area in
urban
municipalities
Ha 130.431 20,99 %
Forest area index 17,24 % 26 %
Mq forest/people 131 mq 621 mq
Average surface
of municipalty
Ha 183 Ha 402
Cuts of timber 220.319 mc 593.397 mc
10. Monitoring Plots
Results
โข 51 species
โข 1246 individuals
โข Number of species
affected by the size of the
forest patch
Results
โข 22 species
โข 113 individuals
โข Number of species
affected by the vegetation
data and forest structures
16. Awareness
๏ User Committee
๏ 3 Workshop in Lombardy and course on monitoring in urban
forest for SFS regional foresters
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