BiodiverCities: A roadmap to enhance the biodiversity and green infrastructure of European cities by 2030

BiodiverCities is a European Parliament Pilot Project, developed with the aim of enhancing the use of Urban Green Infrastructure (UGI) to enhance the condition of urban ecosystems, providing benefits for people and nature. In this report, an evaluation around the most appropriate reporting unit for an urban ecosystems assessment is carried out, comparing Functional Urban Areas (FUA) and Local Administrative Units (LAU). Furthermore, UGI are assessed from a multi-scale perspective. The status and scenarios of UGI in European urbanised areas is first analysed measuring the urban green areas and the tree canopy cover. Secondly, the contribution of UGI to the overall European Green Infrastructure (EU-GI) is quantified, evaluating the respective role of FUA and LAU. Finally, the effect of urban characteristics on biotic homogenization is analysed exploring how urbanised areas impact on avian population and communities in French cities. The results of this study will inform the development of a roadmap for greening cities in Europe in the 2020-2030 decade.