Land-use intensification decouples biodiversity and ecosystem function in urban greenspaces across the Iberian Peninsula

Land-use intensification decouples biodiversity and ecosystem function in urban greenspaces across the Iberian Peninsula | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Land-use intensification decouples biodiversity and ecosystem function in urban greenspaces across the Iberian Peninsula Guiyao Zhou, Camelia Algora, Kaiyan Zhai, Chao Xiong, Juntao Wang, and 44 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7929778/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Urban greenspaces play a critical role in conserving biodiversity and provide multiple ecosystem services from carbon sequestration to pathogen regulation. Yet, little is known about how contrasting urban greenspaces, varying in land-use intensification levels, influence the biodiversity and ecosystem functions across large environmental gradients. Here, conducted a standardized field survey in 51 cities from the Iberian Peninsula to evaluate the impacts of land-use intensification on 36 ecosystem indicators and 11 above- and belowground biodiversity and ecosystem services. At each city, we sampled five plots along a land-use intensification gradient, from less managed natural or semi-natural ecosystems, city parks and roundabouts to more heavily managed golf courses and urban farms. We showed that land-use intensification decouples biodiversity and ecosystem functions across urban greenspaces. Natural or semi-natural ecosystems and city parks supported the highest levels of multiple ecosystem services, particularly carbon sequestration, but exhibited relatively low soil and plant species richness. In contrast, the opposite pattern was found in urban farms, at the highest end of our land intensification gradient. These findings reveal that the management of urban greenspaces is heavily influenced by important trade-offs between biodiversity and ecosystem services, highlighting that the one-size-fits-all solution is not adequate when pursuing multiple management goals. Earth and environmental sciences/Ecology/Urban ecology Earth and environmental sciences/Ecology/Biodiversity Earth and environmental sciences/Ecology/Ecosystem ecology Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files Supportinginformation.pdf SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7929778","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":533845180,"identity":"13b480f5-8141-4f00-9151-3c3a7288bc46","order_by":0,"name":"Guiyao Zhou","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA4klEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACCTjJfADEkCFFC1sCiMFDrBYQ4DEAkwR1yM9uPib5tc0isb+95/OrGzUWPAzsh49uwKeFcc6xNGnZNonEGWfObrPOOQZ0GE9a2g18WpglcsykJYFaGm7kbjPOYQNqkeAxw6uFDaZl/o2cZ8Y5/4jQwgPUIvkRqGXDjRzmx7ltRGiRkEhLtmY4J2G88cwxM+bcPgkeNkJ+kZ+RfPDmj7I62XnHmx9/zvlWJ8fPfvgYXi0gwAyMC8cGkL/AviOkHAQYfzAw2IO0fiBG9SgYBaNgFIw8AAB1RUSkXj5lSQAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1385-3913","institution":"IRNAS-CSIC","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Guiyao","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhou","suffix":""},{"id":533845181,"identity":"58a202d0-a9eb-4c89-950c-b464445ebbd9","order_by":1,"name":"Camelia Algora","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Sevilla (IRNAS). 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Yet, little is known about how contrasting urban greenspaces, varying in land-use intensification levels, influence the biodiversity and ecosystem functions across large environmental gradients. Here, conducted a standardized field survey in 51 cities from the Iberian Peninsula to evaluate the impacts of land-use intensification on 36 ecosystem indicators and 11 above- and belowground biodiversity and ecosystem services. At each city, we sampled five plots along a land-use intensification gradient, from less managed natural or semi-natural ecosystems, city parks and roundabouts to more heavily managed golf courses and urban farms. We showed that land-use intensification decouples biodiversity and ecosystem functions across urban greenspaces. Natural or semi-natural ecosystems and city parks supported the highest levels of multiple ecosystem services, particularly carbon sequestration, but exhibited relatively low soil and plant species richness. 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