RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SPATIAL LANDSCAPE METRICS AND THE PROVISION OF ECOSYSTEM SERVICES BY URBAN FORESTS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW STUDY

Abstract

Ecosystem services are a hotly debated topic in recent years; however, talking about the assessment of ecosystem services only makes sense when there are indicators that are demonstrably correlated with this aspect. This is because it becomes possible to diagnose, evaluate and promote public policies that are aligned with the demands, potentials and expectations for a given ecosystem. Given this, and the growing trend in the use of geotechnologies, this study sought to assess the panorama of research that has possibly studied landscape metrics applied to the assessment of the provision of ecosystem services in an integrated manner. To this end, a bibliometric analysis was carried out on the Scopus Platform using the following keywords: 'valuation of ecosystem services' and 'landscape metrics'. It was found that this topic is not yet complacent; and countries like the United Kingdom, China, Germany, Australia, Spain and the Netherlands have led the research. Especially for forest ecosystems, the gaps are still large, which demands research efforts to consolidate the best and provide solid knowledge bases for an effective management of these sensitive and highly specialized areas for humanity.

Keywords

• landscape ecology
• bibliometric survey
• ecosystem services