Understanding how biodiversity affects ecosystem functioning in cities

The proportion of people living in urban areas is growing globally. Understanding how to manage urban biodiversity, ecosystem functions, and ecosystem services is becoming more important. Biodiversity can increase ecosystem functioning in non-urban systems. However, few studies have reviewed the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in urban areas, which differ in species compositions, abiotic environments, food webs, and turnover rates. In this project, we review evidence of biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships in urban environments globally and assessed factors that influence the relationship direction. We identify gaps and opportunities to improve urban biodiversity-ecosystem functioning research and discuss how our findings can improve urban green space management.