Year: 2026
Type: editorial
Abstract: Urban forests are vital components of city ecosystems, delivering a broad portfolio of ecosystem services that underpin both natural and social sustainability-encompassing air purification, water filtration, mitigation of the urban heat island effect [1] and support for biodiversity [2,3]. Growing evidence argues for folding ecosystem-service valuation into urban and regional planning, recognising that green infrastructure can also contribute to disaster risk reduction, transboundary water management and adaptive responses to climate change [4]. While these regulating and supporting services are well-studied, the restorative value of green space rests on a richer sensory experience that current planning practice still underestimates. In particular, the acoustic dimension-the soundscape-matters as much as what green space looks like. A synthesis of urban blue-green space and tranquillity shows how vegetation and water jointly reduce unwanted noise while integrating multi-sensory perception [5], and the spatial configuration of park boundaries and their plant structure measurably influence the soundscape experienced inside [6]. At the same time, urbanisation is adding novel auditory and luminous stressors: noise exposure is associated with urbanisation and economic activity, as evidenced by the association between urban noise and nighttime light across major Chinese cities [7,8], while the rise of low-altitude drones introduces overhead noise whose psychoacoustic effects can even be amplified by tall tree canopies [9,10]. In response, this Research Topic assembles original contributions that interrogate the multifaceted interplay among ecosystem services, natural resource management and the mental health and well-being of urban populations.A macro-level assessment applies wavelet decomposition and stationarity tests to track forest ecological balance across nine major timber-producing countries, offering a longitudinal account of environmental sustainability. At a finer ecosystem scale, a study of the Poyang Lake wetland quantifies how agricultural activities and environmental factors jointly regulate soil inorganic carbon, clarifying the carbon-service dynamics of forest-adjacent systems under human disturbance.Several contributions probe the psychological and physiological value of exposure to vegetation. One synthesis articulates the cognitive-neural mechanisms underlying restorative environments and their benefits for mental health. Drawing on urban parks in Kunming, a coupled SEM-ISM-DEMATEL analysis shows that ecological and colour features directly drive restorative health benefits, while spatial features operate chiefly through perceived restorative experience. On university campuses, an analysis of perceived green window views reveals distinct psychological pathways-through perceived stress and positive and negative affect-relating indoor nature views to freshmen's adaptation and well-being.A deep-learning framework now predicts perceived plant diversity in urban green spaces from panoramic imagery, providing scalable, evidence-based tools for biodiversity-aware and restorative design. In parallel, a structural-equation analysis of urban forest visitation in an Iranian city maps the psychological pathways through which forest contact cultivates pro-environmental behaviour, extending the Topic's behavioural dimension beyond cultural boundaries.From a governance perspective, a dual machine-learning analysis across 30 Chinese provinces demonstrates how digital government development raises forestry total factor productivity, offering insights for integrating ecosystem services into planning and resource governance. At the material level, rosemary-derived extract and hydrosol emerge as promising natural wood-preservation agents that improve dimensional stability while reducing reliance on hazardous chemicals, advancing environmentally responsible resource use.Read together, these studies affirm that forests and urban green spaces cannot be reduced to a single metric of value: their contribution to sustainable cities hinges on the simultaneous management of ecological integrity, planning integration and human well-being. Work on soundscapes and tranquillity further reminds us that the restorative value of green space is multidimensional and sensory, and that emerging stressors-from nighttime light to low-altitude drone noise-demand adaptive design. Future work should extend these frameworks across more diverse geographical and cultural settings, integrate multisensory (visual and acoustic) dimensions of green-space experience, and translate perceptual and ecological evidence into practical planning and governance guidance that places human health and ecosystem resilience at the heart of sustainable cities.
Language: English
Subfield: Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,353
OpenAlex ID: W7223348405