Ecosystem services provision : dependence of water quality and quantity

Effectiveness of green infrastructure for services such as temperature regulation, air quality regulation and runoff mitigation partly depends on sufficient availability and/or quality of water. The aim of this assessment is to explore water dependence of ecosystem services in urban green infrastructure and to assess potential bottlenecks for a district in Utrecht. A method is proposed for analysis of water availability and water demand for ecosystem services provision by urban green infrastructure. The analysis is targeted at the ecosystem services temperature regulation (cooling), stormwater runoff mitigation, air quality regulation, noise reduction, recreation and general wellbeing and water quality regulation. Besides the current situation (2015), demand and supply have been analysed under expected future changes (2030 and 2050) as a result of climate change and land use changes.