Development of a methodological framework for evaluating biodiversity of built urban green infrastructures by practitioners

As global biodiversity is being lost at an alarming rate, urban green infrastructures can potentially play a beneficial role in biodiversity conservation. Such infrastructures are produced and managed by practitioners. Analogous to engineering inspection, the ecological performance of such infrastructures also needs to be evaluated: not only for assessing benefits against added costs but also for generating valuable lessons to improve future practices. The practitioners, however, are often not equipped with knowledge background and tools to evaluate biodiversity. This paper bridges the knowledge gap of practitioners in assessing the biodiversity of urban green infrastructures. Research methods include literature review and synthesis, interviews with experts, and case studies. The outcomes of the study include a methodological framework for streamlining biodiversity assessment by practitioners, a recommended list of species for monitoring, simple yet scientifically sound survey methods, and a decision table. Case studies indicate that the research outcomes are useful in evaluating the biodiversity of the studied sites. Overall, this paper provides a systematic and straightforward approach to evaluating the biodiversity of urban green infrastructures from the perspective of practitioners.