The study focuses on the planning phase of nature-based solutions in cities, in which trade-offs have to be made between different options, such as the design, effectiveness, financial contributions from residents or participatory options. Based on the UPSURGE survey and choice experiment, the aim is to assist public participation processes in various countries, help planning teams define priorities and design governance measures which ensure long-term dedication to development plans.
Land based mitigation and negative emissions technologies and practices
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The UPSURGE project, led by BURST, focuses on urban Nature Based Solutions (NBS) for biodiversity and climate change. BeeOdiversity, a key partner, introduces the BeeOmonitoring tool, utilizing bees to gather environmental data. This innovative approach requires minimal effort from beekeepers and facilitates collaboration via an online dashboard. Past projects in Belgium show promising results in biodiversity and pollution reduction. Dr. Nguyen’s vision emphasizes integrating economic, environmental, and social aspects for sustainable change, aligning with NBS.
At LANDMARC, we are developing methods and instruments that non-researchers can use to reliably estimate how different land-use practices contribute to climate change mitigation. In our view, this can only be done by bringing in local knowledge at every stage of the research process. Here’s why.
The Generic Quantitative Risk Assessment report described implementation of a site soil survey and consequent contamination remediation action for the Lower Botanic Gardens (Belfast, UK). The exploratory site investigation was undertaken between October-December 2022, and comprised excavation of 28 soil samples and subsequent laboratory analysis for a common contaminant suite. Results confirmed contamination distributions linked to historical industry. Risk remediation actions were proposed for features with different levels of soil exposure.
The Preliminary Risk Assessment desk survey was produced prior to soil investigations on the Lower Botanic Gardens (Belfast, UK). Planning records revealed little site development over the past 200 years, but identified multiple local historical industry-linked contaminant sources that could contribute to soil contamination. Community growers and site developers were considered most at risk from ingesting or inhaling any contaminated site soil dusts.
Rather than trying to plant as many trees as possible, research coming out of the LANDMARC project suggests that it might be better to focus on planting fewer trees and managing them well, in a way that’s good for the underlying soil.
Air pollution is a growing concern that continues to strongly affects cities worldwide, posing significant threats to both human health and the environment. Nature based solutions is an innovative approach that harness the power of nature and its inherent ability to filter, absorb and mitigate pollutants. In the frame of the Upsurge project, different NBS are being implemented to study their benefits with a focus on air quality and climate remediation.
The understanding of nature-based negative emission solutions often focuses on their mitigation potential, thus as means for reaching carbon neutrality by 2050. However, this is only one small part of the whole picture; these techniques represent a more sustainable model that brings many environmental benefits in the long term.
EIFFEL H2020 project offers the EO-based community the ground-breaking capacity of exploiting existing GEOSS and external datasets, with minimal new data collection activities. Added-value services interoperable with GEOSS will be designed, using cognitive search and metadata augmentation tools based on Artificial Intelligence (AI), including Natural Language Processing. These tools will leverage advanced cognitive features to extract meaningful information from and enrich GEOSS metadata.
In the first year of LANDMARC, Bioclear earth led the soil sampling of 2 case studies in the Netherlands related to agroforestry and paludiculture, one case study in Portugal related to pasture and one case study in Kenya related to soil management.
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