Urban Forests - Website
Table of contents
Project content
Urban forests have a wide range of climatic and health benefits and can make a significant contribution to increasing biodiversity in cities, improving recreational conditions and promoting climate adaptation in urban areas. Against the backdrop of increasingly scarce financial and human resources, urban forests represent viable alternatives to intensively managed green spaces and can effectively complement and diversify urban green systems.
In the city of Leipzig, three new urban forests were created in a testing and development project by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation between 2009 and 2019. Their development was subjected to scientific monitoring over ten years, which was led by the TU Dresden (Chair of Landscape Planning). This involved an in-depth study of the floristic and faunistic development as well as the effects of urban forests on soil, climate, recreation, urban development and the acceptance of urban forests.
The results are documented in module reports, which can be downloaded from this website. As a result of the accompanying scientific research, a toolbox was created in which recommendations for interested cities and municipalities were prepared in a planning-oriented manner. This can also be downloaded (in 3 parts) from this website. In 2023, a follow-up study was also carried out, which looked at the development of tree species and cover, the climatic effect, the fauna and the use and perception by recreational users. The entire follow-up study is documented in a volume of the BfN publication series, which is currently in print. At the same time, the respective module reports were updated or supplemented where necessary.
Module reports
The module reports document the results of the monitoring of the accompanying scientific research in the period 2009-2019. The Chair of Meteorology at TU Dresden (Prof. Bernhofer) investigated the effects of forests on the urban climate, the Chair of Site Ecology and Plant Nutrition (Prof. Feger) the effects on soils and the water balance, and the Chair of Landscape Planning (Prof. Schmidt) the effects on urban form, recreational use and urban development. The Chair of Forest Botany at the TUD (Prof. Roloff) was responsible for the accompanying botanical research, while the Naturschutzinstitut Region Leipzig e.V. (NSI) was responsible for the accompanying faunistic research. The acceptance of different forest forms by the population was investigated by the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research GmbH (UfZ, Prof. Rink).
In addition to the ongoing monitoring of the three newly created urban forests in Leipzig (Stadtgärtnerei-Holz, Schönauer-Holz and Gleis-Grün-Zug), the research program included extensive comparative studies of existing reference forests, fallow land and parks as well as surveys and empirical studies.
A scientific follow-up study of the three project areas was carried out in 2023, 12 years after the first urban forest was established in Leipzig. The Chair of Meteorology at TU Dresden (Prof. Mauder) investigated the effects of the forests on the urban climate, the Chair of Landscape Planning (Prof. Schmidt) the effects on recreational use and biodiversity and the Chair of Forest Botany (Prof. Roloff) the accompanying botanical research. Faunistic studies were carried out by the Chair of Landscape Planning and the Borna-Birkenhain Ecological Station.
All current module reports can be downloaded here:
(Please note that the module reports and the toolbox are not barrier-free due to the project processing period)
Download module Flora I (2019)
Download module Flora II (2019)
Download module Climate (2018)
Download Module Urban Redevelopment (2018)
Download Recreation module (2024)
Download Recreation profiles module (2018)
Download module Woodland development (2024)
Download Population acceptance module (2024)
Toolbox
Toolbox A - Pre-selection of suitable areas
Part A of the toolbox serves to answer the following main question on a city-wide level: How can a preselection of potentially suitable areas for the creation of urban forests be made?
This step can be particularly challenging in cities with high utilization pressure. Based on the experiences of the research project, criteria were therefore selected that help to decide at a city-wide level which areas are particularly suitable for the creation of urban forests in order to achieve the greatest ecological and recreational added value.
Toolbox B - Designing urban forests
Part B of the toolbox serves to answer the following main question: An urban forest is to be created on a specific brownfield site. What and how should be planted here, with precise knowledge of the size, previous use and other framework conditions, and what design and infrastructure should be planned?
The toolbox provides recommendations on how to respond to different previous uses, user groups and surrounding green and building structures with creative means based on the experience gained in the research project. It goes without saying that all the criteria listed are only suggestions - the specific conditions of the individual case are decisive.
Tree species filter
In a tree species filter, it is also possible to select suitable tree species according to the following parameters:
- Fallow land type and
- Height of the surrounding urban structure or height of the desired forest
- Density of the forest and
- Layering of the forest
Additional information, such as soil requirements, growth rate or noise protection function, is provided for each tree species. Climate resilience assessments, such as heat resistance, drought stress tolerance, waterlogging and late frost tolerance, can also be called up. In addition, the biodiversity value of the respective tree species and the respective importance for insects, birds and phytophages can now also be read off. (Please note: Instead of the old tree species filter, only a tree species list is currently available).
Further explanations on the criteria and the determination of suitability of the tree species can be found in the instructions for the tree species filter
Toolbox C - Implementation of urban forests
Part C of the toolbox serves to answer the following main question: The concrete planning of the urban forest has been completed. What now needs to be considered during implementation and subsequent maintenance?
The urban planning office of the City of Leipzig was able to gather extensive experience with the implementation of urban forests during the trial and development project, which is documented in this part of the toolbox.