Ecosciences du 13 février 2026

What we plant and how we manage our gardens can have a significant impact on the environment. Domestic gardens cover up to 30% of UK urban areas, and recent research has linked garden plant characteristics (in terms of their structure and function) with provision of key ecosystem services. Using garden plants with specific environmental benefits could reduce risks posed by extreme weather (such as droughts, floods and heatwaves) while increasing the sustainability of urban spaces. Solid scientific evidence that brings together information on how green space planting choice influences the local climatic conditions, and the delivery of multiple environmental benefits, now and in the future, is much needed. It would inform the advice that organizations such as the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) provide the UK gardening public to help them maximize beneficial ecosystem services, whilst minimizing environmental risks. My PhD project aims to determine how configuration (such as plant species, management practices etc.) of an urban garden can impact the surface energy and water balance, and the subsequent provisioning of ecosystem services, using process-based models.