Stephan Pauleit

Technical University of Munich | TUM · Strategie und Management der Landschaftsentwicklung

Infiltration swales are considered an essential and multifunctional component of water-sensitive urban design. To maintain their functionality, a robust planting is required. However, species selection poses a major challenge due to the extreme site conditions. To identify stress-resistant species, container experiments with 60 perennial species na...

Urban areas face high particulate matter (PM10) levels, increasing the risk of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Green spaces can significantly reduce PM10 concentration, as shown at various scales, from boroughs to whole cities. However, long-term monitoring is needed to understand the specific mechanisms and cumulative impact of green spac...

Urban greening has grown in significance in Europe and worldwide as a presumed “public good” initiative, delivering a range of benefits for human health and wellbeing. To redress inequalities in the distribution of such benefits, attention has turned to the potential of collaborative governance. Indicator-based frameworks have also begun to receive...

The concept of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) has gained interest as an approach to make significant contributions to the transformation towards more liveable, sustainable, and climate-resilient cities. However, the uptake of NbS into urban development practice is hindered by knowledge and governance barriers. Knowledge plays an essential role in evi...

Green urban squares are essential in densely built neighborhoods and enhance their quality of life. Investment in the greening of urban areas will have a beneficial impact, particularly regarding human thermal comfort. Smaller than parks, squares can be easily spread over the cities and should be part of any neighborhood. While the cooling effect o...

Outdoor heat stress possesses significant health risks, contributing to thousands of premature deaths each summer. Urban greening has been widely recognized as a potential solution to mitigate this heat threat. However, the optimal way to maximize cooling effects from urban forest—specifically through the influences of plant leaf traits and canopy...

Construction and demolition waste (CDW) represents one of the most significant waste streams worldwide. Due to a high brick content, CDW amended soil substrates are expected to improve water retention, benefitting urban trees. In this two-year field study evaluating the effects of CDW on the water holding capacities of urban tree substrates, six s...

This research addresses the intricate dynamics between urban green infrastructure (UGI) and the built environment, focusing on the effects of urban heat islands, building energy demand, and human health. Following the idea of the Socio-Ecological-Technological Systems framework, we investigate key indicators related to green and grey infrastructure...

Purpose of Review Agroforestry and urban forestry have evolved mainly as separate disciplines, although they share a long history of tree cultivation in man-made environments. Here, we review their common threads, exploring how trees in both systems interact with and shape their environments. We examine common themes and methodologies – ranging fro...

Highlights • Tree growth and cooling provisioning affected by impervious surfaces, primarily due to low soil moisture. • Tree species showed differing responses to imperviousness. • Increased imperviousness is linked to higher PET under trees. • Leaf Area Index is the most influencing tree trait for human thermal comfort.

Urban green spaces (UGS) provide mechanisms through which people connect and interact with each other, strengthening social relationships as well as human‐nature connections, both of high relevance for sustainable development. However, what determines urban residents' engagement in activities for the protection of UGS still lacks a systematic under...

Grüne Infrastruktur ist ein neuartiger Ansatz für die Landschaftsplanung. Seine Innovationspotenziale bestehen in der umfassenden Sicht auf Natur und Landschaft, die ökologische, sozio-kulturelle, ästhetische und ökonomische Aspekte beinhaltet und vielfältige gesellschaftspolitische Ziele wie den Klimawandel oder sozialen Zusammenhalt aufgreift. Da...

Urban tree canopy cover is a promising solution for mitigating heat island. • Data-driven guidance on tree selection and planting locations is still limited. • Four research priorities are proposed, requiring a collaborative research effort. • Cross-climate morphological and physiological characteristics are desired. • Integration with atmospheric...

Stadtbäume erbringen eine Vielzahl von Ökosystemleistungen, wie beispielsweise die Reduzierung der Hitzebelastung oder die Verbesserung der Luftqualität. Moderne Fernerkundungsdaten und-methoden ermöglichen die Erfassung, Charakterisierung und Klassifikation von Bäumen in Städten. Mit dem prozessbasierten Baumwachstumsmodell "CityTree" können Ökosy...

Heavy metals account for a notable share of soil and water body contaminations. For restoring contaminated soils, phytoremediation is considered an eco-friendly and sustainable practice. However, the implementation in the field requires a well-thought-out plant selection and comprehensive knowledge of the influence of various environmental factors....

Soil degradation is a short or long ongoing process that limits ecosystem services. Intensive land use, water scarcity, land disturbance, and global climate change have reduced the quality of soils worldwide. This degradation directly threatens most of the land in the Middle East and North Africa, while the remaining areas are at high risk of furth...

Urban environments are challenging places for urban greenspaces, especially for trees, which have the greatest impact on ecosystem service provisions [...]

Researchers increasingly consider the systematic integration of green infrastructure (GI) concepts in urban planning as an essential approach to tackle significant current and future challenges. Cities in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) face rapid urbanization, unregulated land-use practices, and poor enforcement of policies. These cities struggle to addr...

The last decade has seen a profound increase in the development of assessment frameworks for ecosystem services, green infrastructure and nature-based solutions (NBS). This has improved understanding of NBS impact assessment, including processual aspects related to participatory planning and governance. We argue that, although representing a move i...

Urban environments are often characterized by extensive paved surfaces, exacerbating the urban heat island effect. At the same time, limited root space due to underground infrastructure poses a challenge for planting new trees in these areas. Trees in planters have emerged as popular design elements, offering innovative and sus- tainable greening s...

The present study contributes to the issue of the urban heat island (UHI) effect with its possibly associated thermal stress for city dwellers and its potential mitigation during heat waves and dry spells in Central Europe. It is based on meteorological measurements along an urban transect in the city of Würzburg, Germany. Due to its topographic an...

As scholars from the fields of history, anthropology and animal studies, as well as landscape planning and management, we discuss various forms of urban and urbanising infrastructures and their political entanglements. Questioning and illuminating how various actors and their practices build and shape urban environments, we address topics ranging f...

Digitale Werkzeuge können dazu beitragen, relevante Informationen und komplexe Zusammenhänge in Bezug auf den Klimawandel als Entscheidungsgrundlage für Planende und Verwaltung zur Verfügung zu stellen. Diese Handreiche soll die Einsatzmöglichkeiten solcher Methoden für Kommunen und Planende aufzeigen und beispielhafte Anwendungen Demonstrieren.

Citation: Amer, A.; Franceschi, E.; Hjazin, A.; Shoqeir, J.H.; Moser-Reischl, A.; Rahman, M.A.; Tadros, M.; Pauleit, S.; Pretzsch, H.; Rötzer, T. Structure and Ecosystem Services of Three Common Urban Tree Species in an Arid Climate City. Forests 2023, 14, 671. https:// Abstract: Urban forests play a critical role in improving the quality of life i...

The urbanization rate is considerably high in Europe. Hence, there is a limited opportunity for improving the provision of urban green spaces. However, the compact city model can be combined with green planning strategies such as urban green infrastructure. The two core principles of urban green infrastructure planning—multifunctionality and connec...

Urban green spaces are important for climate change adaptation, in particular to reduce the negative impacts of heat waves on human well-being. However, in growing cities urban green spaces are under pressure due to increasing housing demand and densification. Municipalities face the challenge of addressing both the housing shortage and the need fo...

Trees contribute greatly to urban environments and human well-being, yet relatively little is known about the extent to which a rising incidence of tree insect pests and pathogens may be affecting these contributions. To address this issue, we undertook a systematic review and synthesis of the diverse global empirical evidence on the impacts of urb...

Increasingly, public open spaces are gaining importance for human well-being in dense, urban areas. In inner city locations, squares can provide easy access to greenery and thus encourage social encounters. Microclimatic conditions influence the squares’ attractiveness. However, knowledge is still limited on the impact of different layouts of squar...

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is the region most vulnerable to climate change and related hydro-meteorological risks. These risks are exacerbated in rapidly expanding urban areas due to the loss and degradation of green and blue spaces with their regulating ecosystem services. The potential of nature-based solutions (NBSs) to mitigate hydro-meteorologic...

Large‑scale urban growth has modified the hydrological cycle of our cities, causing greater and faster runoff. Urban forests (UF), i.e. the stock of trees and shrubs, can substantially reduce runoff; still, how climate, tree functional types influence rainfall partitioning into uptake and runoff is mostly unknown. We analyzed 92 published studies t...

This book gives positive examples how humans and rivers have been, and are still in some places, living in harmony. It analyses how this knowledge can be transferred into modern river management schemes and thereby it attempts to mitigate the deplorable trend of the decline of biological and cultural heritages and diversities in and along rivers. A...

Der anhaltende Zuzug in bayerische Städte geht mit einer gesteigerten Nachfrage nach Wohnraum und hohem Druck auf Freiflächen einher. Parallel dazu steigt die Dringlichkeit von Klimaschutz und Klimaanpassung. Insbesondere die Sicherung und Entwicklung von Grüner Infrastruktur (Vegetation im Freiraum und an Gebäuden) bietet Potenziale zur Verbesseru...

Green (and blue) spaces receive attention as important components of cities that can help to mitigate the effects of climate change, support biodiversity and improve public health. Green space planning aims to transform cities towards urban sustainability and resilience. In a longitudinal study, representatives from eleven European municipalities t...

Growing cities face severe land use conflicts. Urban expansion and the densification of existing built areas are increasing the pressure on green spaces, which are key for climate change adaptation. Planning procedures embroiled in these land use conflicts are often complicated and slow. This is due to the increasing complexity in planning processe...

With the increasing individualization of society, perceptions and attitudes towards nature and forest management is changing. Knowledge about motives for visiting woodlands as well as the aesthetic perception of forests can support forest management and communication strategies. In Central Europe, multifunctional, close-to-nature silviculture aims...

Urban spaces are often dominated by paved surfaces and ongoing processes of densification; consequently, intensifying the urban heat island effect. In order to strengthen the liveability of urban spaces, an adequate amount of green spaces is needed. Trees in planters are an alternative greening solution; however, the lack of root space due to under...

Impact assessment is a key step in mainstreaming urban nature-based solutions (NBS). Yet, it remains unclear if and how assessment frameworks influence urban planning, design and management. We contend that the potential of current NBS assessment frameworks is not fully exploited due to: (1) limited contextualisation of monitoring and assessment to...

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is the region most vulnerable to climate change and related hydro-meteorological risks. These risks are exacerbated in rapidly expanding urban areas due to the loss and degradation of green and blue spaces with their regulating ecosystem services. The potential of nature-based solutions (NBS) to mitigate hydro-meteorologica...

Nature-based solutions (NBS) are recognized as a means to transform cities into climate-resilient, biodiverse and healthy living environments. NBS guidance material, such as handbooks, guides, manuals and toolboxes shall support the mainstreaming and implementation of NBS in practice. Concurrently, there is an increased call for collaborative gover...

A multitude of research and innovation projects funded and directed by the European Commission has supported a swift uptake of the nature-based solutions (NBS) approach in the research community. These projects also aim to support mainstreaming of NBS into local practice of urban development. The knowledge and perspectives on NBS gained within thes...

Crown shapes of common European urban tree species differ from tree species to tree species and are modified by the age of a tree and its local environment. A tree’s crown shape has a great influence on the crown volume and thus on the ecosystem service provision of a tree such as the shade area or the shade density. We used the data of 3852 tree i...

The urban forest, i.e. the stock of urban trees, is a major component of urban green spaces. It can make significant contributions to urban sustainability and climate change adaptation. Urban forest governance and management play a key role in the extent to which these contributions are realized for good. This chapter presents a selection of promis...

Green infrastructure (GI) has emerged as a feasible strategy for promoting adaptive capacities of cities to climate change by alleviating urban heat island (UHI) and thus heat stress for humans. However, GI can also intensify the winter cold stress. To understand the extent of UHI within a city as well as the link between outdoor thermal stress bot...

Planners and engineers increasingly discovered nature as a source of inspiration to mitigate hydro-meteorological risks resulting from extreme weather events. Actors are realizing advantages of such solutions known as Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) to rapidly adapt to changing climate patterns and related impacts such as flooding, landslides, mudflow...

Strategien zur Klimawandelanpassung im urbanen Raum erfordern die vermehrte Verwendung von Vegetation zur Verminderung von Hitzebelastungen und für den Regenwasserrückhalt nach Starkregenereignissen. In den bayerischen Ballungsräumen steht das Grün aber aufgrund des Bevölkerungswachstums durch bauliche Nachverdichtung bzw. hochverdichtete Bauweisen...

Urban river restorations focus on restoring aquatic and riparian habitats, increasing flood protection, and enhancing recreational potential. The increased recreational value such newly created urban green spaces is a key benefit of these measures as urban riparian areas are highly valued for recreation. However, high recreational pressure may cont...

Mountain areas are highly exposed to flood risks. The latter are increasing in the context of climate change, urbanization, and land use changes. Non-structural approaches such as nature-based solutions can provide opportunities to reduce the risks of such natural hazards and provide further ecological, social, and economic benefits. However, few n...

Urban trees are supposed to have an important regulating function for the urban microclimate, carbon sequestration and a number of other ecosystem services. Vice versa, urban trees suffer from droughts that are typically enhanced within the urban heat island. In the present study, we examined how ecosystem services cooling and carbon sequestration...

Cities are characterised by a high concentration of human population, dense development and a wide range of human activities. Urban development finds its spatial expression in area growth, densification, but also in the phenomenon of “shrinking”. These spatial processes are not mutually exclusive, but can take place simultaneously and are also inte...

Sensitivity to external disturbances such as floods, heat waves, summer droughts, tsunamis or hurricanes is very high in sensitive urban ecosystems. Urban ecosystems are generally vulnerable due to their open material cycles. In particular, the chapter provides insights which effects the foreseeable climate change will have on cities and how they c...

Urbanisation is one of the defining phenomena of the twenty-first century, which has affected all regions of the world. With a world population growing to more than nine billion people, there is also no serious alternative to the city as a human habitat. From an ecological perspective it is also the most effective and efficient form of organization...

The spatial form and the ecological features of the city are closely related. Not only biodiversity, urban soils, climate, and hydrology, but also the energy and material flows of the city are influenced in different ways by the spatial composition of different land uses, built-up area, the degree of surface sealing, the proportion and type of gree...

Full text available at: https://www3.ls.tum.de/fileadmin/w00bds/lapl/Bilder/Projekte/GrueneStadt/FS_Nachverdichtung_Leseversion.pdf

AVAILABLE AS OPEN ACCESS ARTICLE Concepts such as green infrastructure, nature-based solutions, and ecosystem services gained popularity in recent discourses on urban planning. Despite their recognition as innovative concepts, all of them share a degree of ambiguity. Fuzziness can be a weakness but also an opportunity to shape novel concepts togeth...

Green spaces fulfill an important role in regulating the urban microclimate, however they are under high pressure in growing cities. As much as densification is a threat towards existing green spaces, it also offers the possibility to redesign residential areas in a climate-responsive way. To do so, urban green infrastructure needs to be incorporat...

A variety of counting methods exist to analyze visitor numbers of outdoor settings such as national parks, recreation areas and urban green spaces, with sensor-based approaches being the most frequently applied. In this paper, we describe the application and practicality of camera traps originally designed for wildlife monitoring for visitor manage...

Green Infrastructure (GI) has been identified as a promising concept for the ecological, social and economic regeneration or urban and peri-urban areas by creating open spaces for recreation, cultural activities and urban farming, which in turn promote health, social cohesion, new green jobs and climate change adaptation. In the last 10 years, this...