Holistic research agenda for sustainable management and conservation of urban woodlands

In the course of urban development, natural areas are often extensively eradicated. Some remnants of natural ecosystems in the form of woodlands are occasionally left by design or by default. They denote the most complex type of urban vegetation with notably high ecological value. Due to their high scenic and landscape quality, derived largely from their rich nature content and associated ecosystem services, these urban woodlands are often heavily used by urban residents for informal outdoor recreation. The same qualities also attract property development. Their ecological worth in the face of conflicting and deleterious demands calls for effective conservation and protection from undue human impacts. Based on current knowledge base from a multidisciplinary perspective, this paper attempts to identify the key knowledge gaps and critical concerns, and justify the strategic research directions to improve our understanding and hence conservation of a threatened urban ecological resource. A total of 100 research questions has been proposed to facilitate a concerted international research effort to achieve a holistic understanding of the urban ecological heritage.

Research highlights
► Urban woodlands, as complex ecosystems in cities, are threatened by recreation and development.
► Management and conservation strategies could be optimized by research and application of findings.
► The multiple synergy and antagonism amongst nature, city and humans could be explored in depth.
► A multidisciplinary-holistic research agenda is developed to address knowledge gaps and critical concerns.
► 100 research questions are proposed for international collaborative research endeavors.