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

Esperon-Rodriguez, Manuel and Gallagher, Rachael V. and Arndt, Stefan and Asibey, Michael Osei and Augustinus, Benno Andreas and Ballinas, Monica and Barradas, Victor L. and Barton, David N. and Bauhus, Jürgen and Beaumont, Linda J. and Bissonnette, Jean-François and Brookhouse, Matthew and Calaza-Martínez, Pedro and Calfapietra, Carlo and Capela Lourenço, Tiago and Cariñanos, Paloma and Clemente, Matteo and Conway, Tenley and de Hoogh, Kees and De Pauw, Karen and Dendoncker, Morgane and Dobbs, Cynnamon and Duinker, Peter and Ejaz, Ujala and Eleuterio, Ana Alice and Endreny, Theodore and Esperon-Rodriguez, Diego and Farrell, Claire and Guo, Zhengfei and Gwedla, Nanamhla and Hauer, Richard and Hermy, Martin and Jeffries, Peta and Juno, Edith and Lee, Gervais and Litvak, Elizaveta and Love, Natalie and Manoli, Gabriele and Marchin, Renée M. and Martin, Alexander J. F. and Martin, John M. and McPhearson, Timon and Messier, Christian and Messier, Julie and Morgain, Rachel and Nagendra, Harini and Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark and Olson, Lukas G. and Östberg, Johan and Pataki, Diane and Pfautsch, Sebastian and Power, Sally A. and Rahman, Mohammad A. and Randrup, Thomas and Reich, Peter B. and Russo, Alessio and Rymer, Paul D. and Schifanella, Rossano and Shackleton, Charlie and Sharmin, Mahmuda and Siclari, Davide and Sivarajah, Sivajanani and Sjöman, Johanna Deak and Sjöman, Henrik and Solfjeld, Ingjerd and St-Denis, Annick and Svenning, Jens-Christian and Szota, Christopher and Toledo-Garibaldi, María and Villemaire-Côté, Olivier and Vogt, Jess and Wan, Mingxuan and Wen, Linsheng and Williams, Geoffrey and Williams, Nicholas S.G. and Wiström, Björn and Wu, Hong and Yan, Pegbo and Zhou, Yuyu and Ziter, Carly D. and Zoungrana, Benewindé Jean-Bosco and Tjoelker, Mark G. (2026) Rethinking urban forests as essential infrastructure for resilience, equity, and biodiversity in the current climate emergency. PLOS Climate, 5 (7). e0000953. ISSN 2767-3200 (In Press)

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Abstract

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 changes and social contexts. These priorities must be complemented with strong legal protections, rigorous enforcement of legislation against illegal tree removal, and robust community engagement supported by integrated urban planning and improved monitoring. Without these, the ecological, social, and economic benefits provided by urban forests will remain threatened. By reframing urban forests as essential living infrastructure embedded in legal, financial, and planning frameworks, cities can become cooler, healthier, more biodiverse, and socially just. This framework offers timely guidance for policymakers to prioritise urban forests within climate resilience and sustainability strategies, securing benefits for current and future generations.

Item Type:	Article
Authors:	Esperon-Rodriguez, Manuel and Gallagher, Rachael V. and Arndt, Stefan and Asibey, Michael Osei and Augustinus, Benno Andreas and Ballinas, Monica and Barradas, Victor L. and Barton, David N. and Bauhus, Jürgen and Beaumont, Linda J. and Bissonnette, Jean-François and Brookhouse, Matthew and Calaza-Martínez, Pedro and Calfapietra, Carlo and Capela Lourenço, Tiago and Cariñanos, Paloma and Clemente, Matteo and Conway, Tenley and de Hoogh, Kees and De Pauw, Karen and Dendoncker, Morgane and Dobbs, Cynnamon and Duinker, Peter and Ejaz, Ujala and Eleuterio, Ana Alice and Endreny, Theodore and Esperon-Rodriguez, Diego and Farrell, Claire and Guo, Zhengfei and Gwedla, Nanamhla and Hauer, Richard and Hermy, Martin and Jeffries, Peta and Juno, Edith and Lee, Gervais and Litvak, Elizaveta and Love, Natalie and Manoli, Gabriele and Marchin, Renée M. and Martin, Alexander J. F. and Martin, John M. and McPhearson, Timon and Messier, Christian and Messier, Julie and Morgain, Rachel and Nagendra, Harini and Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark and Olson, Lukas G. and Östberg, Johan and Pataki, Diane and Pfautsch, Sebastian and Power, Sally A. and Rahman, Mohammad A. and Randrup, Thomas and Reich, Peter B. and Russo, Alessio and Rymer, Paul D. and Schifanella, Rossano and Shackleton, Charlie and Sharmin, Mahmuda and Siclari, Davide and Sivarajah, Sivajanani and Sjöman, Johanna Deak and Sjöman, Henrik and Solfjeld, Ingjerd and St-Denis, Annick and Svenning, Jens-Christian and Szota, Christopher and Toledo-Garibaldi, María and Villemaire-Côté, Olivier and Vogt, Jess and Wan, Mingxuan and Wen, Linsheng and Williams, Geoffrey and Williams, Nicholas S.G. and Wiström, Björn and Wu, Hong and Yan, Pegbo and Zhou, Yuyu and Ziter, Carly D. and Zoungrana, Benewindé Jean-Bosco and Tjoelker, Mark G.
Editors:	Editors Email ORCID Byrne, Ken UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED
Document Language:	Language English
Subjects:	Social sciences > Sociology & anthropology > Factors affecting social behavior > Human ecology > Human ecology-urban areas Social sciences > Economics > Production > Sustainable development
Divisions:	Azim Premji University - Bengaluru > School of Climate Change and Sustainability
Full Text Status:	Public
URI:	http://publications.azimpremjiuniversity.edu.in/id/eprint/7718
Publisher URL:	https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pclm.0000953

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