Optimising a landscape visual quality protocol. A Method for reducing respondent fatigue and obtaining site-specific indicators.

Evaluation of landscape visual quality is crucial for policymaking and planning but is still challenging. A wide range of visual assessment protocols is available, but there is still no consensus on appropriate indicators or approaches. Also, evaluation protocols can encompass many indicators, being exhaustive and complex and making the evaluation lengthy. Furthermore, protocols tend to be catered to a particular type of landscape or site-specific, and it can be tricky to ensure the protocol developed is adequate for the landscape under study. This paper proposes a methodology to optimise the selection of indicators for landscape visual assessments. There are two main goals: i) reduce the evaluation time to avoid respondent fatigue, and ii) make the protocol site-specific, choosing indicators that perform better and avoiding redundant indicators. •The presented method optimises the selection of indicators in expert visual assessments;•Indicators are rated in situ on a 5-point scale and go through a performance and redundancy test;•It helps to adapt complex evaluation protocols to the study landscape and to choose robust indicators in a supported and scientific way.

Plant traits database for climate change adaptation and mitigation in Northwest Portugal.

The database presented in this data article is related to the article "Adaptive planting design and management framework for urban climate change adaptation and mitigation" [1]. It includes a list of 287 plant species presently occurring in Porto, Portugal, more precisely in urban green spaces with high urban ecological novelty levels. The plant species in this list were classified and organized according to several traits with a particular focus on plant species' adaptation, mitigation, and ornamental characteristics. Data collection resorted to articles, books, and various open access and online datasets. Data were organized in an Excel file that organizes information on more than 50 plant species traits/variables.

Urban ecological novelty assessment: Implications for urban green infrastructure planning and management.

Urban areas are continuously subjected to anthropogenic transformations that result in the emergence of novel urban ecosystems. To prepare for and respond to contemporary negative environmental impacts (e.g., climate change, land-use change, biological invasions), it is increasingly urgent to plan and adapt cities' green infrastructure. Accordingly, the inclusion of the novel ecosystems concept in urban planning and management is pertinent and necessary. Nevertheless, identification or measurement of ecological novelty has been challenging and can be problematic without the appropriate methods. The objectives of this study are to 1) develop and test a methodology to assess novelty in urban ecosystems grounded on the combination of both human and biotic dimensions of the novel ecosystems concept, and 2) discuss the implications that urban ecological novelty assessment can have for future urban green infrastructure planning and management. In contrast to other proposed methods, this assessment considers the human dimension of the concept as equally important as the biotic dimension, once the human presence is pervasive and a fundamental component of urban landscapes. The proposed working methodology was tested in Porto, Portugal, in study sites with contrasting human-induced transformation pathways and plant species assemblages, thus theoretically representing different degrees of urban ecological novelty. The methodology developed in this work is straightforward and can be adjusted and replicated to other cities according to available data and tools. Above all, the assessment of urban ecological novelty can inform future urban planning and management and assist in investigating novel urban ecosystems.