View article

The degradation and loss of vital ecosystem functions and services have been an uncontested result of urbanisation. An understanding of how ecosystem services are provided along rural–urban gradients is crucial in the task of conserving and enhancing vital services in urban environments, increasing the quality of life of urban dwellers, and working towards a sustainable future. Focusing on nine ecosystem services – aesthetic, spiritual, recreation, water flow regulation, carbon sequestration, climate change adaptation, pollination, biodiversity potential, and noise attenuation – regarded as important to urban areas the authors detail the changes in the values of these services along a gradient comprising four categories of urbanisation: urban, suburban, peri-urban and rural, in Greater Manchester, UK. The data on which the discussion is based are derived from an interdisciplinary assessment tool, developed from …