Biodiversity and the Recreational Value of Green Infrastructure in England

Katherine Murkin, Narushige Shiode (), Shino Shiode and David Kidd
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Katherine Murkin: Nature Recovery Team, Somerset Wildlife Trust, Taunton TA1 5AW, UK
Narushige Shiode: Department of Geography, Geology and the Environment, Kingston University, Kingston upon Thames KT1 2EE, UK
Shino Shiode: Department of Geography, Birkbeck, University of London, London WC1E 7HX, UK
David Kidd: Department of Geography, Geology and the Environment, Kingston University, Kingston upon Thames KT1 2EE, UK

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 4, 1-16

Abstract: Green infrastructure refers to connected corridors of greenspaces within and beyond urban areas. It provides sustainable ecosystem goods and services for people and wildlife, enhancing their wellbeing and protecting them against climatic extremes. However, the exact contributing factors to the betterment of green infrastructure are not systematically examined at a national level. This study aims to identify what helps improve biodiversity and the recreational value of green infrastructure. The study uses hotspot analysis, ordinary least squares (OLS) regression and geographically weighted regression (GWR) to understand the spatial patterns of the relevant variables and outcomes. Findings suggest that high wildlife species richness was reported in Forestry Commission woodlands and country parks, whilst doorstep greens and village greens returned poor species richness. The recreational value of greenspace was affected the most by certain types of greenspace (e.g., woodlands) as well as the percentage of urban cover. They indicate that biodiversity is generally high in areas away from urban centres, while access to greenspace in an urban space brings us high recreational value. These results indicate that green infrastructure is a complex system that requires the right balance between different priorities and services.

Keywords: biodiversity; geographically weighted regression; green infrastructure; spatial analysis; wildlife species (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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