Urban forests and biodiversity

Urban forests can play a crucial role for the conservation of many species of flora and fauna and they can therefore be actively managed by foresters and city planners to preserve that diversity. Biodiversity in forests can be preserved at high levels by maintaining large and undisturbed natural habitats. Undertaking good practices of management of vegetation in the urban ecosystem is a great strategy for the sustainability of human development and for cities' resilience. This chapter discusses why it is of fundamental importance to maintain biodiversity in urban forests, which are the most common taxa that can occur and how the structure of the urban forests can influence the presence of species. Maintaining large woodlot size is considered an option to promote urban biodiversity. Several studies demonstrated how the size of green spaces in urban areas was the main factor explaining the variation in biodiversity indicators. The maintenance of forest-stand structural complexity is critical for forest biodiversity conservation.