Citizen Science Approach for Assessing the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Service Potential of Urban Green Spaces in Ghana

• 出版年: Land
• 主要な著者: Frederick Gyasi Damptey, Nana Yeboaa Opuni-Frimpong, Abdul Wahid Arimiyaw, Felicity Bentsi-Enchill, Edward Debrah Wiafe, Betty Boante Abeyie, Martin Kofi Mensah, Daniel Kwame Debrah, Augustine Oti Yeboah, Emmanuel Opuni-Frimpong
• フォーマット: 論文
• 言語: 英語
• 出版事項: MDPI AG 2022-10-01
• 主題: environmental education; nature conservation; participatory science; sustainable development goals; urbanization
• オンライン･アクセス: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/10/1774

Urban green spaces are linked to good human health and well-being, sustainable cities and communities, climate action, life on land and under water, as well as offering a platform for quality nature-based education. Their efficient management will no doubt be necessary if strides are to be made in efforts to protect biodiversity and enhance ecosystem service delivery in urban areas. This will, in part, require building the capacity of community members as citizen scientists to take up conservation roles. This study explored the levels of biodiversity and the proxy-based ecosystem service potential of urban green spaces in Sunyani, Ghana, using citizen science approaches. The green spaces accessed were the University of Energy and Natural Resources Wildlife Sanctuary and Arboretum, the Sunyani Parks and Gardens, the Sunyani Residency Park, and the Sunyani Senior High School Woodlot. The different levels of biodiversity (trees, arthropods) and ecosystem services were observed for the five green spaces assessed, with a significant relationship observed between arthropod communities and vegetation variables. Our results showed that citizen scientists perceived urban green spaces to supply more significant provisioning and regulating services than any other ecosystem services, even though they were highly dissatisfied with how green spaces are managed. The children’s perception of the composition of nature was slightly narrow, as they largely centered on plants and animals only. Even so, their awareness of the value of nature was high, as were the threats of human activities to nature. Citizen science approaches could complement biodiversity studies in data-deficient regions; however, collected data may require additional verification and validation from experts for conclusive and better inferences.