Data from: Quantifying urban ecosystem services based on high-resolution data of urban green space: an assessment for Rotterdam, the Netherlands

1. The urban dimension of ecosystem services (ES) is underexposed, while
the importance of ES for human well-being is nowhere as evident as in
cities. Urban challenges such as air pollution, noise and heat can be
moderated by urban green space (UGS), simultaneously providing multiple
other services. However, available methods to quantify ES cannot typically
deal with the high spatial and thematic resolution land cover data that
are needed to better understand ES supply in the urban context. 2. This
study derives methods to quantify and map a bundle of six ES as supplied
by UGS, using land cover data with high spatial and thematic resolution,
and applies these to the city of Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Land cover
data comprise eight classes of UGS. Methods are derived from an evidence
base on the importance of UGS types for the supply of each of the six ES
that was built using literature review. 3. The evidence base reveals that
UGS types differ in their contribution to various ES, although the
strength of the evidence varies. However, existing indicators for urban ES
often do not discriminate between UGS types. To derive UGS-specific
indicators, we combined methods and evidence from different research
contexts (ES, non-ES, urban, non-urban). 4. Rotterdam shows high spatial
variation in the amount of UGS present, and accounting for this in ES
supply reveals that ES bundles depend on UGS composition and
configuration. While the contribution of UGS types to ES supply differed
markedly with UGS type and ES considered, we demonstrate that synergies
rather than trade-offs exist among the ES analysed. 5. Synthesis and
applications. Our findings underline the importance of a careful design of
urban green space (UGS) in city planning for ecosystem services (ES)
provision. Based on the latest insights on how different UGS provide ES,
the methods presented in this study enable a more detailed quantification
and mapping of the supply of ES in cities, allowing assessments of current
supply of key urban ES and alternative urban designs. Such knowledge is
indispensable in the quest for designing healthier and climate-resilient
cities.