Kristianstad is a city of 41.000 inhabitants in southern Sweden. Once a fort on an island in the river of Helge Å, parts of the river and surrounding lakes were lowered or removed as the city expanded. This has caused parts of Kristianstad to have the lowest point in Sweden, -2,32 meters below ocean level. The surrounding river has an important role as it creates a wetland ecosystem called Vattenriket that surrounds the city. This area is recognised as a biosphere reserve of international importance. Water is currently held at bay with help of embankments, but the city experiences recurring floods during years of high water levels. The threat that the water poses is expected to increase by the end of the century due to rising sea levels.  How can a city combat flooding through use of urban design in relation to local ecosystems in an era of rising water levels? This project is about how a city in an exposed position could deal with water, ecosystems services and sustainable development in a changing climate with care towards the surrounding wetland, to use it as a major tool in how to tackle the challenges ahead.

Abstract: Managing worldwide urbanization and housing shortage in cities through a resilient development isan immense issue of today. This study states the risk with urban densification, at the expense ofgreenspace, which is crucial to maintain vital ecosystem services. The nonlinear response todisturbance in ecosystems, need to be emphasized both in planning and practice, to avoiddegradation and collapse. Despite general promotion of densification as a tool to decrease negativeurban impact on surrounding landscape, as to mitigate climate change, current strategies ofcompacting cities are argued to endanger future resilience. In this work, it is stressed that valuationof greenery in urban areas should include the recognition of uncertainty, safeguarding the availabilityof all forms of ecosystem services in a changing future. Applying a framework of social-ecologicalresilience, a case-study of Stockholm regarding valuation of greenery and ecosystem services inplanning and exploitation, as in continuous management, has been carried out. A wide range ofactors within the fields of green management, planning and exploitation have been interviewed.When compared with expressed visions in comprehensive plans and policies, results from interviewsshow severe gaps between planning and practice. Foresight planning in relation to adaptivegovernance, to enhance social-ecologic interactions, is suggested a tool to improve implementationand acknowledgement of ecosystem services in urban development and design. Further, enhancedcross-learning and knowledge exchange in the social-ecological system, should be improved throughinteraction and recognition of the variety of stakeholders and multi-functional green areas tostrengthen social-ecological resilience in the urban context. / Sammanfattning: Dagens intensiva urbanisering och bostadsbrist, betonar behovet av resilient stadsutveckling. Dennastudie understryker faran med förtätning på bekostnad av grönstrukturer, vilka är avgörande förupprätthållandet av livsnödvändiga ekosystemtjänster. Ekosystems icke lineära respons påstörningar, bör uppmärksamma i både planering och praktik, för att undvika utarmning eller kollaps.Tillskillnad från ofta framhållna fördelar med förtätning, som minskad inverkan på kringliggandegrönstrukturer och motverkande av klimatförändringar, vill den här studien framhålla hurförtätningsprocesser riskerar att försämra städers resiliens. För att säkra en framtida motståndskraftoch anpassningsförmåga till förändrade omständigheter, bör värdering av grönstrukturer i stadsmiljötydliggöra framtida osäkerhetsfaktorer i relation till ekosystemens förmåga att tillhandahålla olikatjänster. Utifrån ett social-ekologiskt ramverk har en fallstudie av hur grönstrukturer värderas iplanering- och exploateringsprocesser, samt inom allmänt underhåll, genomförts i Stockholm. Enbredd av aktörer inom planering, exploatering och grönskötsel intervjuades. I jämförelse meduttryckta visioner i olika översiktsplaner och policydokument, visar resultaten från intervjuerna påflera luckor mellan planering och utförande. En långsiktig planering i samband med ett socialekologisktresilient styrelseskick, som syftar på en större förståelse och interaktion mellan socialaoch ekologiska faktorer, föreslås förbättra såväl implementering som uppmärksammande avekosystemtjänster inom stadsutformning och utveckling. Vidare kan ett utökat lärande ochkunskapsutväxling mellan och inom social-ekologiska system, öka förståelsen för- och förstärkastäders social-ekologiska resiliens.

Improved agricultural productivity due to use of fertilizers over the last century has resulted in yield of cash crops, such as corn (Zea mayes L), to be increased on a per hectare basis. Consequently, inadequate fertilizer management such as improper timing or over application has led to infiltration into aquatic environments which can be detrimental to the ecology of such systems. Agricultural systems within the Mississippi River Basin have contributed to large-scale eutrophication in the Gulf of Mexico through surface and dissolved fertilizer loading in upstream tributaries. In response to these concerns, nutrient loss reduction strategies (NLRS), have developed in order to minimize these contributions of eutrophication to aquatic environments. Among adjustments in agricultural practices, one solution is the implementation of cover crops at the end of the cash crop growing season. The primary purpose of cover crops is to increase retention of nutrients during the fall and spring through soil stabilization and nutrient uptake which can prevent erosion and dissolved pathways to fertilizer loading in aquatic environments. Common types of cover crops able to achieve these goals are categorized as winter cereal cover crops (WCCC) and namely, winter cereal rye (Secale cereale) (WCR) is preferred in the state of Illinois. Using WCR has provides addition potential benefits such as cold hardiness establishment, carbon sequestration, weed suppression, and altering hydrological conditions before or during the cash crop. Although there are a variety of benefits from WCR, there are documented tradeoffs due to the presence of WCR, namely, reduced corn yields due to diminished stand population and decreased nitrogen availability through the process of immobilization which results from a carbon to nitrogen ration (C:N) which is greater than 25:1. Our research centered around solutions to maximize benefits of WCR while minimizing negative tradeoffs to the subsequent corn. We hypothesized that reduced seeding rate and higher quality cultivars of WCR would lead to quicker decomposition of biomass (Chapter 1) and would result in corn yields (Chapter 2) that were higher than the alternative treatments of high seeding rates and typical cultivars of WCR. Additionally, we hypothesized that selecting alternative cover crop species such as crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum), integrating crimson clover with WCR, and reducing seeding rate through precision planting of cover crops off of the corn row would lead to quicker decomposition and result in higher corn yields than the WCR treatment planted normally (Chapter 3). All research was conducted with two site-years for each study. Chapter 1 consisted of two studies (Study A and Study B) where WCR seeding rate was modified and consisted of five treatments of 0, 34, 56, 84, and 112 kg ha-1 of WCR (Study A), and where WCR seeding rate as well as cultivar was modified and consisted of five treatments (Study B). Treatments consisted of an initial no cover crop control and two cultivars, one typical rye considered as “normal” and a hybrid variety (KWS) considered as “hybrid” that were planted at rates of 67 kg ha-1, considered as “low”, and 100 kg ha-1, considered as “high”. The objective of both studies in Chapter 1 was to evaluate the influence of seeding rate (Study A) as well as seeding rate × cultivar had on (i) WCR biomass and nutrient composition, (ii) decomposition and C:N dynamics, and (iii) soil nitrogen dynamics during the growing season in 2021 (Year 1) and 2022 (Year 2). In Study A, it was found that overall biomass was higher as seeding rate increased linearly (R2 = .94) over the two years from 34, 56, 84, to 112 kg ha-1 (2810.43, 3022.14, 3179.89, 3416.52 kg ha-1, respectively). The seeding rate did not influence the rate at which WCR biomass decomposed due to similarities in carbon and nitrogen concentrations within WCR. Fluctuations in C:N ranged from a high of 37:1 at the beginning of the decomposition phase to a minimum of 21:1 by the end of the decomposition phase. Soil NO3-N and NH4-N measured lowest in the 112 kg ha-1 treatment at 15-30 cm in Year 1. Treatments with no cover crop had the highest soil NO3-N from 0-30 cm in Year 2. Overall biomass of WCR was consistently higher during both years in the hybrid WCR treatments at both seeding rates compared to the normal rye of the respective seeding rate. The ratio of carbon to nitrogen was higher in hybrid varieties (42:1) in Year 1 but not in Year 2. The decomposition rate of all WCR in Study B were similar and not influenced by the various treatments. Fluctuations of C:N ranged from a high of 42:1 in the beginning of decomposition to a minimum of 17:1 by the end of the decomposition phase. Estimated N release of all treatments were similar. Both NO3-N and NH4-N were higher in the no cover crop treatment at the end of the season from 0-30 cm during Year 1, while there was no end of year difference in Year 2. In conjunction with the results of Chapter 1, our objectives in Chapter 2 were to see how treatments from Study A and B influenced (i) corn grain yield, (ii) corn stand count, near difference vegetation index (NDVI), leaf area index (LAI), corn N uptake, corn ear composition, as well as end of year N balance, and (iii) to analyze how those components related to overall corn yield. We additionally included how the treatments’ influence on corn could impact soil N dynamics. In Study A, overall corn yield was influenced by WCR seeding rate (p < .05) as the no cover crop and 34 kg ha-1 treatment (11.57, 11.61 Mg ha-1, respectively) were significantly different from the 112 kg ha-1 treatment (10.73 Mg ha-1). Stand count for corn was also influenced by WCR seeding rate (p < .05) as it linearly decreased with increasing seeding rate (R2 = .90) from 70,0009 to 62,552 plants ha-1. The seeding rate influenced the NDVI reading as it was lower in the 84 and 112 kg ha-1 treatments, indicating greater potential soil N immobilization. It was found that yield was most strongly correlated with corn stand count and 1000 kernel weight. In Study B, corn stand count was the only variable influenced by treatment, which was highest in the no cover crop treatment and was lower in the hybrid WCR when compared to the normal WCR at their respective seeding rates. Yield, kernel weight, number, N uptake were all higher in Year 1 and N balance was lower in Year 1. Chapter 3 investigated how cover crop selection, integration, and planting method influenced all of the aforementioned objectives from Chapter 1 and 2. One study made up Chapter 3 (Study C) and consisted of six treatments which were a no cover crop control, WCR monoculture planted at a rate of 67 kg ha-1, crimson clover monoculture planted normally (CNP) at a rate of 28 kg ha-1, crimson clover monoculture precision planted off of the subsequent corn row (CPP) at a rate of 20 kg ha-1, a mixture of the WCR and crimson clover planted normally (RCNP) at a rate of 33 and 22 kg ha-1, respectively, and a mixture of WCR and crimson clover precision planted with crimson clover on the subsequent corn row (RCPP) at a rate of 50 and 7 kg ha-1, respectively. It was observed that overall biomass was driven by presence of WCR but was not significantly different from the mixture treatments in either year. The biomass of crimson clover was not impacted by precision planting, indicating the ability to lower seeding rate. Presence of crimson clover was responsible for the C:N ratio of the treatment as all crimson clover monoculture treatments, aside from Year 1 CNP due to presence of weeds biomass, were lower in C:N (17:1) than all other treatments. Decomposition rate was influenced by cover crop selection as CPP had the highest decay rate of all treatments in both years (-0.00111, -0.00118 in Year 1 and 2, respectively) and RCPP treatment decomposed quicker than WCR in Year 2. The ratio of carbon to nitrogen was lowest for crimson clover monoculture treatments, followed by mixture treatments. By the end of the decomposition phase in Year 1, all treatments had similar C:N ratios indicating biomass decomposition and higher N content in WCR. Year 2 had a lower amount of N concentration in all treatments which influenced C:N ratio of WCR associated treatments. Estimated N release was higher in the mixture treatments as their N content was higher than the WCR monoculture with more biomass than the crimson clover monocultures. Over the two years of the study, crimson clover monoculture treatments resulted in the highest yields (10.16 and 10.11 Mg ha-1 for CNP and CPP, respectively) which were significantly different than the RCPP and WCR treatments, resulting in higher N balances in the RCPP and WCR treatments. Year 2 had lower corn stand count, yield, kernel weight, kernel number, NDVI. Yield was strongly correlated with CSD (.81), diameter (.91) and length (-.91). During both years, soil NO3-N and NH4-N were similar in all treatments by the end of the season indicating uptake by corn. We conclude that in Southern Illinois it may not be fiscally responsible for a grower to use seeding rates over 34 kg ha-1 or hybrid cultivars if their intention is to use WCR as a cover crop before corn in their cropping system. Although the biomass was higher, decomposition was not quicker than lower seeding rate of WCR or typical varieties of WCR. Integrating WCR with crimson clover did not result in lower biomass which may be a practical solution to lowering C:N in the cover crop system, aiding in decomposition so the biomass associated N is able to accessed by corn without being loss to early in the growing season through leaching. Precision planting of cover crops did not impede biomass accumulation which indicates seeding rates and planting design possibilities for WCR, and crimson clover cover cropping systems. Corn stand density was highly impacted by the presence of WCR which indicates the need for adjusting rate and cover crop selection in order to minimize yield reduction in corn.

Over the past decades, the environmental justice movement has developed growing concerns about the unequal distribution of environmental harms and the uneven access to environmental amenities. The movement rapidly became an academic field that has criticised diverse urban sustainability strategies for failing to address environmental justice issues in its three dimensions: recognition, procedure and distribution. Hence, this thesis aims to explore how this concept could be integrated into the planning of Nature-based solutions in cities through advancing conceptual and methodological contributions. Through an extensive revision of academic literature, several setbacks in the inclusion of environmental justice for urban Nature-based solutions are addressed. This information helped operationalise a distributive environmental justice index that could identify intra-urban injustices related to existing and compounding issues such as the overburdening of environmental risk for socially disadvantaged communities and a lack of access to multifunctional green space benefits. Once these injustices are identified, alternative scenarios for implementing Nature-based solutions are assessed by considering relevant urban planning and policy goals. The last part of this thesis focuses on the level of integration of environmental justice in the context of climate change adaptation and mitigation. An extensive review of Urban Climate Action Plans in Latin America reveals that environmental justice concerns are rarely translated into concrete climate actions. Moreover, the transformative potential of Nature-based solutions for ameliorating environmental justice conditions in cities is not fully explored. With these results, potential opportunities and recommendations that could enable environmental justice are discussed, especially highlighting that the integration of diverse social perspectives and realities is integral to the process of giving rise to just and sustainable urban futures.

Near-natural river corridors (NNRs) provide crucial habitat for a host of biota and support the survival of people and nature worldwide at multiple spatiotemporal scales. Furthermore, NNRs represent fundamental references for river conservation, management, and restration, offering the opportunity to investigate processes under minimal anthropic disturbances. However, in the Anthropocene large near-natural rivers are rare gems in Europe an worldwide, and knowledge of their dynamics and ecosystem services are often scarcedue to a lack of hydromorphological and ecological data, monitoring, and baseline studies. Despite the scarcity and fragmentation of pertinent studies, many national and international guidelines and directives point to NNRs as reference systems for conservation, management, and restoration targets. In this framework, this Ph.D. thesis investigates the value of NNRs in the Anthropocene with an interdisciplinary approach, bridging fluvial geomorphology and environmental planning disciplines to support freshwater management and conservation in international cooperation for development. The first part of the research activity is rooted in fluvial geomorphology and explores the spatiotemporal trajectories of NNRs adopting several remote sensing products, cloud computing, and geomatic. The recent morphological trajectory of the near-natural Vjosa River (GR/AL) is presented as the response of the river to multidecadal climatic oscillations and more recent localized anthropic pressures, warning about the importance of considering and quantifying the geomorphic sensitivity of river systems in management and conservation. Thus, we focused on framing remote sensing-based procedures for characterizing active river channel spatiotemporal dynamics in the Mediterranean biogeoclimatic region. The second part of the research activity deals with the need to improve riverscape science and landscape management dialogue and the valuation of river ecosystem services. Focusing on inland waters ecosystem services, we integrate a socio-cultural approach with spatial analysis for cultural ecosystem services supply assessment in selected Albanian Protected freshwater ecosystems, outlining the relevant role of ecotones in providing cultural ecosystem services and the multifacet value of such dynamic zones. The third part of the research activity strongly links fluvial geomorphology and environmental management and conservation. It proposes the reconstruction of in-channel vegetation age and related ecosystem services spatiotemporal trajectories in targeted reaches of the Vjosa (GR/AL) and Tagliamento (IT) NNRs, integrating cloud computing, multispectral images, and fieldwork data. Developed baseline knowledge and tools can support the study, management, and conservation of highly dynamic river corridors in Mediterranean temperate climates, and the proposed integrated and multidisciplinary set of approaches is promising to cope with data scarcity that often characterizes the few remaining near-natural rivers in the world.

Agricultural ecosystems provide multiple services including food and fiber provision, nutrient cycling, soil retention and water regulation. Objectives of the study were to identify and quantify a selection of ecosystem services provided by agricultural land, using existing geospatial tools and preferably free and open source data, such as the Virginia Land Use Evaluation System (VALUES), the North Carolina Realistic Yield Expectations (RYE) database, and the land cover datasets NLCD and CDL. Furthermore I sought to model tradeoffs between provisioning and other services. First I assessed the accuracy of agricultural land in NLCD and CDL over a four county area in eastern Virginia using cadastral parcels. I uncovered issues concerning the definition of agricultural land. The area and location of agriculture saw little change in the 19 years studied. Furthermore all datasets have significant errors of omission (11.3 to 95.1%) and commission (0 to 71.3%). Location of agriculture was used with spatial crop yield databases I created and combined with models I adapted to calculate baseline values for plant biomass, nutrient composition and requirements, land suitability for and potential production of biofuels and the economic impact of agriculture for the four counties. The study area was then broadened to cover 97 counties in eastern Virginia and North Carolina, investigating the potential for increased regional grain production through intensification and extensification of agriculture. Predicted yield from geospatial crop models was compared with produced yield from the NASS Survey of Agriculture. Area of most crops in CDL was similar to that in the Survey of Agriculture, but a yield gap is present for most years, partially due to weather, thus indicating potential for yield increase through intensification. Using simple criteria I quantified the potential to extend agriculture in high yield land in other uses and modeled the changes in erosion and runoff should conversion take place. While the quantity of wheat produced though extensification is equal to 4.2 times 2012 production, conversion will lead to large increases in runoff (4.1 to 39.4%) and erosion (6 times). This study advances the state of geospatial tools for quantification of ecosystem services. / Ph. D.

Urbanization can negatively affect the capacity of ecosystems to provide services that support human life. Edible green infrastructure (EGI) can increase cultural and environmental services in urban and peri-urban communities. Instrumental in the use of EGI are local governments, who are in a position to pass supportive policies. For this research, we completed a qualitative study of EGI policy processes in U.S. cities and a mixed-methods study of EGI challenges and opportunities in small towns. Our first objective was to understand how and why EGI policy develops. We interviewed twelve policy actors from six U.S. cities that have formalized EGI ordinances. Major drivers of EGI policy were: 1) improving public health; 2) securing land tenure; 3) managing vacant lands; 4) accommodating for population growth; and 5) the local food movement. Common policymaking steps included: 1) local communities initiate EGI policy process; 2) city governments respond by working with communities to draft EGI ordinances; 3) abrupt changes to land use policies result in a policy image supportive of EGI as a public land management strategy; and 4) during emergence of the new land use paradigm, incremental changes reinforce this image. We also learned how certain challenges and policy actor recommendations for minimizing obstacles affect the policy process. Our second objective was to understand EGI adoption in small towns. We surveyed 68 mayors of small towns (<25,000) in Virginia to study local leader perspectives regarding implementation and policy. The greatest perceived barrier to EGI adoption was long-term maintenance, whereas opportunities included civic benefits such as education and community-building. Most towns had not intentionally used EGI on public land, nor did they have compatible land use codes. Open-ended responses suggest that mayors have different views about the role policy should play in EGI adoption. We used mayoral perceptions about the constituent support for public green space, the implementation of edible woody perennial species, and available public space for EGI to group towns into unique types. Four groups were identified in a K-means cluster analysis: 1) Ambivalent and Resource-Poor; 2) Optimistic and Capable; 3) Doubtful and Unsupported; and 4) Unsure with Potential. One-way ANOVA and Tukey's HSD post-hoc analysis (α=0.05) showed that Optimistic and Capable were significantly more likely than Doubtful and Unsupported to intend to plant EGI and benefit from government support for edible, woody perennials on public land. EGI may be more practical for towns with greater backing for public green space, more available land, and higher rates of favorable attitudes. / Master of Science / The global movement of people from rural to urban and suburban areas has impacted ecosystem health and human well-being. A land management strategy that can improve environmental and public health is edible green infrastructure (EGI), which is small-scale food production in and around built structures. Local governments can pass policies that increase the use of EGI in public spaces. To learn more about how local governments view EGI and the role that policy might play, we completed two studies. In our first study, we interviewed 12 people from 6 U.S. cities who were involved in the development of EGI policies. The purpose of this study was to learn how and why cities pass EGI policies. Reasons for policy adoption included: 1) improving public health for their residents; 2) ensuring EGI as a permanent rather than temporary land use; 3) finding a better use for vacant properties; 4) setting aside green space for current and future populations; and 5) increasing local and healthy food access. Cities shared the following policy development steps: 1) local community leaders demonstrated that EGI policy was needed; 2) government leaders worked together with residents to draft an EGI ordinance; 3) ordinances were passed that significantly changed how public land could be used; and 4) they passed other, smaller policies to make the use of EGI easier for residents. In our second study, we surveyed 68 mayors of small towns (< 25,000 people) in Virginia, U.S. The purpose of this study was to learn what local leaders think about the use of EGI in the public spaces and whether EGI policies would be useful. Long-term maintenance was the biggest barrier and the greatest opportunities included education, recreation, social gathering, and community building. Mayors had differing opinions on whether policies pertaining to EGI on public land were a good idea for their towns, and several pointed out that residents already had access to private land for food production. Using mayors' responses, we grouped towns based on the following characteristics: 1) how much public land could be used for food production; 2) how supportive residents were of existing green space; and 3) how residents thought about the use of EGI on public land. We found that small towns in Virginia could be described as; 1) Ambivalent and Resource-Poor; 2) Optimistic and Capable; 3) Doubtful and Unsupported; or 4) Unsure with Potential. "Optimistic and Capable" towns were more likely to be supported by municipal policies and budgets and to use EGI for managing public land, whereas "Doubtful and Unsupported" towns were least likely to be supported by local government and to use EGI. In summary, EGI may be more practical for towns with greater backing for public green space, more available land, and more favorable views on food production on public land.

Urban landscapes homogenize our world at global scales. This sameness contributes to "extinction of experience", where people feel increasingly disconnected from native ecosystems and the services they provide. Numerous approaches have been proposed for combatting extinction of experience, all of which require community support to be successful. Because comparative assessments are relatively rare, however, it is difficult to say which options are most supported. We addresses this knowledge gap using human subject surveys and multi-criteria decision analysis to evaluate landscape preferences and their implications for three approaches recommended to combat extinction of experience: ecosystem conservation, turf replacement and nature-based solutions. Our study focuses on universities in Southern California, where native ecosystem remnants, nature-based solutions, lawns, and ornamental gardens co-exist, which is necessary to compare community support for transitions among them. Our results suggest that conservation of native ecosystems, particularly sage scrub (top ranked landscape overall), is well supported by campus communities, as are turf replacement programs (lawns ranked lowest overall). Support for nature-based solutions was more intermediate (and variable), which may reflect their relative newness, both on university campuses and in urban spaces more generally. Not all university populations preferred the same landscapes; preferences differed with degree of pro-environmentalism and university status (undergrad, graduate student, staff). Even so, all groups exhibited landscape preferences consistent with at least one approach for combatting extinction of experience. This suggests we have a viable set of tools for increasing native ecosystem exposure on university campuses, and ultimately, in the next generation of urban homeowners. / Master of Science / Urban areas around the world are more like one another than the natural landscapes they replace. This can make people feel more at home in a city far away than they do in the landscapes that belong in their home state. Changing urban areas to reconnect people with nature requires community support to be successful. Whether this support is available, however, is not well understood. This study focuses on evaluating community support for three actions intended to bring people closer to nature. These include 1) protection of natural landscapes, 2) replacing lawns with natural plants, and 3) using nature instead of pipes and channels to manage the water that runs off paved surfaces during storms in urban areas. The community we focus on is university students and staff because they have access to all the different landscape types involved in the three actions described above. Our approach was to survey people on four campuses in Southern California and rank their landscape preferences to determine if they are likely to support these actions. We found that people tend to be supportive of protecting native landscapes and replacing turf grass with native plants. Support for nature-based alternatives to pipes and channels was more variable. This may be because they are presently uncommon, and people don't know how they feel about them yet. Not everyone on campus preferred the same landscapes, but most people's preferences were consistent with at least one approach for connecting people with nature. This suggests that there may be strong support for changing campus landscapes in ways that bring people closer to nature.

Plastics are a highly utilized material in modem society, leading to environmental concerns surrounding plastic pollution. Microplastics, which are defined as plastic particles less than 5mm in size, have additionally become increasingly recognized as a harmful pollutant in aquatic systems. Constructed treatment wetland systems (CTWSs) are highly effective at removal and mitigation of pollutants, including anthropogenic nutrient inputs. This study aims to understand the potential of a CTWS to remove microplastic pollution from tertiary-treated municipal wastewater before discharge into a local natural water body. Microplastic percent removal was determined through the manual quantification of microplastics in triplicate 500mL surface water samples, taken at both an influent and effluent site. Samples were vacuum filtered and particles within the sample were caught on the 0.45μm pore size nitrocellulose filter paper, dried, and transported to a microscope station where microplastics could be identified and quantified according to visual characteristics. Results indicate the CTWS studied is removing, on average, 93 % of microplastic particles across 11 months of data collection, demonstrating an additional ecosystem service provided by treatment wetlands.

A intensa relação entre sistema econômico e ambiental é tema de discussões e análises de diversas áreas de estudo, mas foi com o surgimento da Economia Ambiental e, posteriormente, da Economia Ecológica que este tópico teve o seu destaque. Mesmo com diferenças substanciais ambas as áreas têm como um dos seus objetivos a identificação e quantificação dos recursos e processos naturais que apresentam utilidade humana, chamados atualmente de serviços ecossistêmicos, através da técnica de valoração ambiental. Dependendo de seu enfoque, a valoração ambiental pode apresentar cálculos e concepções diferentes. Basicamente, existem três esferas de valor dos serviços ecossistêmicos: a econômica, a ecológica e a sociocultural. Por questões metodológicas, de definição e, principalmente, de relutância em discutir questões socioculturais, a última esfera se apresenta pouco desenvolvida e aplicada. A motivação de modificar este quadro se encontra na busca de um melhor entendimento dos diferentes usos dos serviços ecossistêmicos, com destaque para os chamados serviços ecossistêmicos culturais, a fim de uma tomada de decisão que se baseie nas três esferas de valor. Assim, com o objetivo de contribuir para o desenvolvimento da faceta sociocultural da valoração dos serviços ecossistêmicos, o presente estudo foi construído. Para isso, foi proposta e testada uma nova metodologia que permite a identificação (Free listing) e valoração sociocultural (Índice de Saliência de Smith) dos serviços ecossistêmicos através das respostas de comunitários quando submetidos a um questionário semi-estruturado específico. O estudo foi conduzido na Comunidade do Marujá, situada na Ilha do Cardoso, litoral sul do Estado de São Paulo. No total, 53 moradores tradicionais (representando 88% das famílias) foram questionados sobre suas relações, utilitárias, pessoais e comunitárias, com o ecossistema de praia que ladeia a comunidade. Ao todo, 18 serviços ecossistêmicos foram identificados, alguns descritos pela primeira vez, e classificados em três categorias, uma delas também criada neste estudo. Numa análise geral, Alimento, Trabalho e serviços ecossistêmicos culturais, como Identidade de Lugar apresentam os valores mais altos. A utilização de Free listing em conjunto com o Índice de Saliência de Smith se mostrou uma metodologia interessante para a identificação e valoração dos serviços ecossistêmicos a partir do envolvimento de uma população local. Seus resultados são consistentes e permitem a comparação com outros estudos, além de poderem ser utilizados, juntamente com valores de outras esferas, para a composição de um quadro mais completo de tomada de decisão. / The intense relationship between economic and environmental systems has been discussed and analyzed in several areas of study, but it was with the advent of Environmental Economics and, subsequently, the Ecological Economics that this topic had its prominence. Even with substantial differences, both areas have as common objective, the identification and quantification of natural resources and processes that have human utility, also known as ecosystem services. This can be done by environmental valuation techniques. Depending on its approach, environmental valuation has different outcomes, methods and concepts. In general, there are three spheres of ecosystem services values: the economic, the ecological and the socio-cultural one. Because of methodological limitations, definition problems and, mainly, the reluctance in discussing cultural issues, the last sphere is poorly developed and applied. The motivation for modifying this situation is the search for a better understanding of ecosystem services\' different uses, with emphasis on the so-called cultural ecosystem services in order to take decisions that are based on the three spheres of value. Thus, with the objective of contributing to the development of the cultural sphere of ecosystem services valuation, the present study was constructed. A new methodology was therefore proposed and tested: this methodology allows the identification (Free-listing) and sociocultural valuation (Smiths Salience Index) of ecosystem services through the response of a community when submitted to a semi-structured questionnaire. The study was conducted in Marujá community, situated on the Cardoso Island, south coast of Sao Paulo State. In total, 53 traditional residents (representing 88% of households) were asked about their relationship, utilitarian, personal and community, with the community beach ecosystem. In all, 18 ecosystem services were identified. Some were described for the first time, and classified into three categories, one of which was also first assessed in this study. In a general analysis, \"Food\", \"Job\" and cultural ecosystem services, such as \"Sense of place\" have the highest values. The use of Free-listing in conjunction with the Smiths Salience Index appeared to be an interesting methodology for the purpose of identification and valuation of ecosystem services through local population. The results are consistent and allow comparison with other studies. In addition, it can be used together with other sphere values in order to compose a more complete framework for decision-making purpose.